EDITORIAL: Habitat chips away at homelessness

We tip our hat to Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley as the nonprofit begins building its 50th home here in the valley. This worthy organization has built relationships with volunteers throughout the valley as it has shepherded the construction of affordable homes since the Flathead branch of the international organization began in 1989.

The latest building project on Westland Drive is a collaborative effort with Thrivent Financial, which has three building programs that focus on affordable housing.

The Flathead is fortunate to have organizations that work so tirelessly to provide a hand up for people seeking permanent housing solutions.

Lodge renovation welcome

Speaking of construction, Lake McDonald Lodge in Glacier National Park is getting a $3 million face lift that should be finished by the time visitors start flocking to the park this summer.

The 102-year-old lodge is a local treasure, and while it seems like a lot of money, we’re glad to see the investment in this historic property so generations to come can experience Glacier much the same way visitors did in the early 1900s.

Last year Xanterra Parks and Resorts, the concessionaire operation in the park, renovated the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn and Village Inn, and restoration of Many Glacier Hotel will begin next year.

These park lodging facilities are extraordinary structures and worthy of preservation.

Lifeside Farms a great idea

Home health care gets an extended trip to the outdoors with Lifeside Farms, a program that A Plus Health Care of Kalispell started three years ago to provide people with mental, aging and physical disabilities a unique opportunity.

Many of the program’s clients are homebound and face additional health issues tied to isolation, inactivity and lack of purpose. But when they are provided a non-institutional setting, many of them blossom. At the farms they visit, people are able to feed chickens, harvest vegetables, groom animals and socialize alongside farmers who have been trained as caregivers.

Last month, Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging selected Lifeside Farms as one of two national winners of the 2015 Promising Practices Award for its unconventional health-care practices.

That’s an appropriate award for thinking outside the box — and outside the home!