Even on her way to work, Brenda Kriedeman sees more of the under-the-radar life of Bismarck's homeless than most people encounter in a month, a year, or maybe ever.

Kriedeman makes stops to check on her Welcome House clients on her way from her home near Center to her new office at 2910 E. Broadway Ave.

Kriedeman started full-time as Welcome House's case manager in mid-July after working part-time for the nonprofit for several years. Kriedeman is happy to finally have an office; for a year, her car held all her files, she said.

Formed by the late Lowell Bontjes in 2004, Welcome House's mission is to confront long-term chronic homelessness in the community, to get clients on a path to independence and self-sufficiency. Welcome House helps not only with finding safe shelter, but partners with other organizations to find employment, build credit and provide additional tools so families can get back on track, Kriedeman said.

"Ruth Meiers Hospitality House and the Abused Adult Resource Center are wonderful agencies, but it takes all of us," Kriedeman said. "(Welcome House) specializes in single fathers and two-parent families who are homeless, since those needs aren't always met."

In addition, Kriedeman continues to be the liaison for Interfaith in Bismarck, a coalition of churches which contribute to a common fund to help out those in need. Kriedeman sees to the distribution of Interfaith funds, which are gathered through Charity Lutheran Church in Bismarck.

Her days are a round of visits and phone calls, interviews and arrangements and strategies. Her talks are both compassionate and tough-minded, as needed.

Last quarter, Kriedeman worked with 63 individuals, and she has 26 current cases, she said.

Right now, for example, she said, she's working with a family of five that's living in a tent by the river. Others stay in their cars, with friends, in parks, outdoors, in hospital waiting rooms. Also troubling is the second-generation homelessness that she's begun to see.

"It's scary," she said. "We need to put more (resources) into it."

Like many helping agencies, cash and volunteers are Welcome House and Interfaith's biggest needs.

Bismarck-Mandan has about 85 churches: Right now, about 10 to 12 contribute to Interfaith, she said. If each of the 85 contributed only $100 a month to Interfaith, it would often mean not having to turn people away, she said.

Through Kriedeman dreams of a facility for showers, education, day care and respite, her experience working for the Salvation Army tells her that running a shelter would cost upward of $200,000 a year - facility costs, maintenance, staff, insurance, etc.

Even without a shelter facility, housing homeless families on a temporary basis in hotels gets pricey. It takes at least $3,000-$4,000 a month for hotel rooms for four families, which doesn't include costs for case management plus other needs such as diapers and gas, she said.

Kriedeman never gives cash, she said. Clients who come for help must change their ways of thinking and must be willing to make the effort to change course. Those who don't are removed from the program: Those are the tough but necessary decisions that Kriedeman has to make.

She requires honesty from her clients. If they've messed up, they have to be upfront about it: "Don't lie to me," she tells them.

Working with true homelessness, chronic homelessness, those who have burned their bridges, Kriedeman expects clients to have a plan, she said.

"If you don't have one when you come in, you get one," she said.

Referrals come from hospitals, from churches, from agencies such as Aid Inc. and Community Action. Welcome House also works with Carrie Grosz, the Bismarck School systems' liaison for families in transition, whose goal is to keep children in school though they or their families may be homeless.

One of the requirements for help from Welcome House is that any children in the family must be in school, Kriedeman said. She is a big believer in education for adult clients as well, she said.

Between Welcome House and Interfaith, Kriedeman's day is filled with phone calls, 300 to 400 a month; and visits with clients, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly, depending on their stage of progress and level of independence. She calls clients to set up appointments, calls employers and landlords and agencies to put together a network of support for housing, mental health or medical care, furniture, employment, transportation.

Treating people with dignity and respect is important: "I have to remember to keep compassion, be humble," Kriedeman said. She wants clients to see that "we understand, and we're here to help."

Welcome House is a United Way agency and also receives funding through private donations and grants, she said. Cash, volunteers and mentors, particularly family mentors, are really needed right now, she said.

There's always going to be homelessness, she said. "This is an opportunity to make a difference."

Kriedeman is available to speak at area churches about the Interfaith program, she said.

For more information, visit www.welcome-house.net or call 751-1218.

(Reach reporter Karen Herzog at 250-8267 or karen.herzog@bismarcktribune.com.)