Village of Hope Marks 40 Years With March for Shelter Care in Bemidji

Forty years after it first opened its doors as Ours to Serve House of Hospitality, Village of Hope is taking its anniversary celebration into the streets. The Bemidji emergency shelter is organizing the March to Support Shelter Care this Saturday, March 14, teaming up with Evergreen Youth and Family Services, Peoples Church, and the Nameless Coalition for the Homeless, which includes the Wolfe Center, to raise awareness about the network of organizations working to house families in crisis.

Participants are asked to gather at the Paul and Babe statues near the Tourist Information Center at noon, with the march stepping off at 12:15 p.m. The route will pass each partner organization's location, including Village of Hope at 525 Mississippi Ave NW, Evergreen Crisis Shelter, Peoples Church, and the Wolfe Center, before ending at Wild Hare Bistro and Coffeehouse at approximately 1 p.m. Organizers encourage marchers to bring signs. Those who prefer not to walk can go directly to Wild Hare at 1 p.m. for warm drinks, short presentations from each organization, and conversation.

Board Chair Dee Sweeney described the march's intent plainly. "We're trying to do something to celebrate our existence and the work we do and get the message out how people can help us," she said. "So, March to Support Shelter Care in March seemed like a good idea." Sweeney was careful to frame the event as a community demonstration rather than a demonstration of grievance: it is not a protest, she said, but a way to highlight the work happening across Bemidji to help others.

Executive Director Lindsey Pryor connected the march directly to Village of Hope's history. "We became a nonprofit entity in 1986, and we're doing this march to raise awareness, show support for our unhoused friends, and to advocate for resources," she said.

The organization rebranded as Village of Hope in 2012 when it moved into a new building. It currently houses up to six families at a time and provided shelter and basic needs to 34 families in 2025. Sweeney offered a sobering summary of what those families face: "It's a full-time job for folks to find housing. So, we're supporting them through whatever family crisis needs repair."

The March to Support Shelter Care is one installment in a year-long series of monthly events Village of Hope is holding to mark its 40th anniversary. The local fundraising group 100+ Women Who Care reinforced community investment in the shelter earlier this year, raising $14,000 for Village of Hope at a single event held in a restored former Elk's Lodge space, with the funds collected in under an hour.

Village of Hope can be reached at 218-751-0722 or at its Mississippi Avenue location for those seeking more information about Saturday's march or about its shelter services.