Some day soon, a young woman will give birth to a baby boy.

He'll have a crib, toys and clothes. His mother will have diapers to change him, bottles to feed him and blankets to wrap him in.

She'll have everything a baby needs to start a new life. Everything, except a permanent home.

Homelessness takes many forms. It's more than the stereotype of the old man panhandling by the freeway. Sometimes, it's a young person, or a woman, or a child, or a co-worker.

There are social services to help people who end up homeless. The woman about to give birth is getting help through Welcome House, an organization that provides services to homeless people. It was through this organization that the University of Mary social work club, known as PACS, found her. The student organization decided to throw her a baby shower.

"It's really to help someone who needs extra things," incoming PACS president Elizabeth Meidinger said. "I hope if I were ever in a situation like that, someone would help me that way."

Through a campuswide e-mail and a listing on a local online classified service, word spread about the need for baby items. Some of the items that were collected were displayed in the campus coffee shop, Marauder's Cove.

Brightly colored toys, books, blankets, a crib, car seat and stroller accounted for some of the items that were collected. Some items are in a storage unit or in the club members' homes, waiting to be delivered to the mother.

Cake and coffee was served for two hours Thursday afternoon to celebrate, and pictures will be taken for the mother. She wasn't able to be at the baby shower for medical reasons.

"Even though she can't be here, it's pretty important," PACS club adviser Nancy Kleingartner said. "Every baby's birth should be celebrated."

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@bismarcktribune.com.)