United Way agencies help family through tough times

The United Way

When Sharon Nash decided to end her 23-year marriage, she left the house with three teen-age children and a foster daughter who was living with the family.

Nash is grateful for the assistance she and her children found in the community. After years as a stay-at-home mom and home-school teacher, Nash was on her own for the first time since she married at 19.

She and her children stayed with friends for a few days, lived in their car when homeless shelters were full, and eventually moved back into the family home for a few months with everyone chipping in to make the house payments.

A year later, she has learned a lot about surviving as an independent woman and finding help when it's needed.

"The crisis hotline was imperative for me to be able to talk to someone at any time," she said.

She attended a support group that became a lifeline.

"I would not have made it without the support group," she said. "To me, life has never been better. I literally could not have made it without the United Way and the programs that are out there."

Her family went to the Flathead Food Bank for help with groceries, learned about the public assistance system and what resources they could muster while she looked for work.

She relied on the Answer Book, a comprehensive guide of services published by the United Way, as almost a bible of available help. Northwest Human Resources told her about the Displaced Homemakers Program, and a public assistance worker referred her to the Violence Free Crisis Line when she became shaky and distraught during an interview.

"They helped me get a grip," she said.

She found help when she needed it, thanks to the generosity of her neighbors whose generous donations fund the United Way.

The Violence Free Crisis Line/Abbie Shelter and the Flathead Food Bank are just two of the 26 member agencies and services that benefit from United Way money.

The theme of this year's United Way fund-raising campaign is "Give. Advocate. Volunteer. Live United" and the monetary goal is $1 million.

So far the campaign has raised $347,458, or 35 percent of the goal.

Last year, United Way member agencies helped nearly 57,000 people in need. Ninety-nine percent of all funds raised stay in local communities to help local citizens.

Nash's family now is settled in two apartments in a cozy four-plex. Her oldest daughter married last summer and recently moved out, and her younger daughter, a recent high school graduate, lives downstairs.

Nash and her teen-age son share a two-bedroom apartment that she has furnished with thrift-store treasures and has turned into a pleasant sanctuary.

"I'm excited about my future," she said. "I am full of potential and hope and I have never been better in my entire life."

The local United Way drive runs through Dec. 31.

Donors may choose how to donate, including cash, payroll deductions, charging to a credit card, direct billing or through automatic bank transfers.

Donors also may designate which member agencies or affiliated partner agencies or the Montana Shares Federation they want to receive their gifts.

For more information on the United Way campaign, call 752-7266.