Ben Pifher/MDN Jill Isaacson, right, stops by the Men’s Winter Refuge to donate clothing. Mike Zimmer, Men’s Winter Refuge executive director, is at the left.

From the outside, the Men’s Winter Refuge in Minot appears to be a normal house.

When walking in one entrance, you’ll be greeted by Mike Zimmer, the executive director, in his office and in the other entrance, you’ll be walking into a living room, stocked with movies and plenty of places to sit and relax.

The main part of the house has 12 beds in four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a towel closet, a washer and dryer, and a kitchen.

The homeless shelter isn’t like others. It’s a small facility with a staff of one, according to Zimmer.

The basement serves as a storage room for clothing donated to the refuge by groups and individuals from the Minot area.

“It’s non-stop. People just love to donate clothes, which is great for us because we go through a lot of clothes,” Zimmer said, standing in front of long racks lined with clothes, hoodies, coats, shirts and pants, and rows of lightly used and new shoes and boots people had donated.

Each person who finds a temporary home at the refuge is given their pick of clothes, as many have nothing more than what they wear when they walk in, according to Zimmer. “If any of our guys, or anyone else reaches out to me and needs men’s clothing, we probably have it,” he said.

Besides men who stay at the refuge, who aren’t limited on items they can take, about 25 additional people each month reach out for men’s clothing and get what they need. “We have a lot of clothes coming in. People donate clothes every day, and we have a lot of clothes going out. It’s a pretty neat system,” Zimmer said.

Clients connect

with shelter

He said many clients call the shelter directly and others are referred by agencies who either help the homeless directly or who come into contact with them and act as helping agencies, like first responders. These groups are overall familiar with how the Men’s Winter Refuge works, and if a person is potentially eligible, they’re given Zimmer’s cell phone number.

“In order to get in here, you have to pass a background check, and you have to be 100% clean and sober,” said Zimmer.

The shelter, with 12 beds and an on-site staff of one, is not equipped to handle addiction and mental health issues. If someone can’t pass the screening because of violent crimes on their record or active warrants, Zimmer will refer them to another better equipped resource.

Zimmer said at first, the screening was for the safety of his volunteers, who stay overnight at the shelter, often coming from Minot Air Force Base. The rules have also proven to benefit the men who stay there. Zimmer said he has been thanked for the screening process because “his guys” feel safe and want to come back every night. According to him, some of the men have stayed at other shelters and have chosen to go back to sleeping outside because they don’t always feel safe.

A place like home

“The guys treat this place like a home. They take care of the place and that lends itself to more success stories,” Zimmer said.

The men who stay there take advantage of the opportunity. “The ideal process is to get people inside and get them safe, then help them find jobs, if they don’t already have them, then ultimately help them find their own place,” Zimmer said.

Some people stay one or two nights and others stay much of the winter, and Zimmer said over the course of his time with the refuge, he’s helped more than 1,500 people. “We’ve had lots and lots of success stories, not only helping them find a job and find an apartment, but in some cases even helping them reconnect with family they’ve been separated from for years. For me that’s the coolest part of the job – seeing guys go through the whole process, seeing them from when they first got here to seeing them get their own place. I’ll see guys in the line at stores, and catch up and see how they’re doing,” Zimmer said.

Zimmer said many people want to find a home on their own, and the refuge will offer help and resources the whole step of the way, often connecting them with other resources who can help them with things such as their first month’s rent on an apartment.

The refuge also has connections which can help them with furniture, such as Matthew 25 Project, another local nonprofit. He said sometimes people even reach out to offer things. “Minot is a very generous community,” he said.

When a man shows up at the refuge, he can expect a meal made by volunteers, a shower, laundry machines, some TV or relaxation time, and a good night’s sleep, said Zimmer. In the morning, he said everyone goes to work to start their shift, and gather back at the shelter in the evening.

“Guys are often a little bit blown away their first night,” said Zimmer, explaining that the Men’s Winter Refuge environment can be a little overwhelming for some, being “more homey” than most shelters.

Helping in

other ways

If someone needs a shelter and they don’t have an option in Minot, Zimmer said the refuge will help them get there. “Over the years lots of guys have taken us up on that and we’re happy to help,” Zimmer said. He said the refuge can do things like purchase train or bus tickets for men who need to get elsewhere. “Our main goal is to get them indoors, even if it’s not here,” he said.

The refuge has a 14-seat bus, which it uses to get the men to work, appointments and other places. But when there isn’t a large group, they have a smaller vehicle as well. The bus is also used each Wednesday to give people rides from the Milton Young and Henry Tower apartment complexes to The Lord’s Cupboard food pantry, he said.

Both vehicles were given to the shelter as parts of grants. “It’s been amazing, it’s been a blessing for our guys,” Zimmer said, explaining that knowing they have a ride to and from work each day is comforting to the men staying there.

Zimmer said this winter hasn’t seen as many men coming to the refuge. He said by early December last year, the shelter would see anywhere from seven to 10 staying each night for the rest of the winter. He said this year, the shelter was seeing four to six men each night. The number of men staying there can vary each week, and it depends on how harsh the winter is, he said. “The numbers vary, but we’re always ready to fill our 12 beds,” he said.

During the warmer months, the shelter shutters its doors but still helps men stay inside each night. From May to October, the Men’s Winter Refuge helps with hotel rooms. Zimmer said the shelter can take on more clients in the winter because it’s cheaper to shelter them within the house than it is to get them hotel rooms. “It works well,” he said. “During the winter months we get a lot of volunteer help.”

During the summer months when the house is closed, he said he can focus more on fundraising and grant writing. “I do the whole works – from the grant writing to cleaning the toilets,” Zimmer said. He said his writing experience, previously having been a newspaper writer, is what got him the job. He said the shelter was looking for a grant writer. Ten years later, Zimmer said, working at the shelter, “It’s a cool job, I really enjoy it.”

Ways to help

If someone is interested in helping, Zimmer said there is a meal train to help provide food for the shelter. He also said people can provide needed items such as bedding, bath towels, men’s winter clothing, backpacks, snacks and toiletries.. Lists are available of needed items at the shelter.

For those who can, Zimmer said they accept volunteers to do an overnight shift from 7 p.m.-5 a.m. at the shelter. He said many of the volunteers are men and women from Minot AFB. Most of them are on night shift already so their sleep schedules aren’t messed up, which, he said, is a risk of volunteering that shift.