When Jess and I first stood out front of that old 1938 hospital building, we weren’t just looking at old blocks and broken windows next to sagging doors and a twisted deck. We were looking at Sam’s legacy. We saw a sanctuary—a safe harbor for people who are too often pushed into the margins of society.
But choosing to follow the Lord’s leading and walk in obedience to His will means leaning into the hard things and taking immense risks for what matters. Standing firmly in that gap has a cost.
Sam’s Place provides help to people who are forgotten and not much “fun or virtuous to serve”. After all, those that are “profound” are fun, everyone knows they need help and virtue demands compassion! But what about those that are not “profound”? The ones that need a little bit of help? The ones that people shun because they stare while standing in the road… the ones that wander and don’t know personal boundaries? The ones that society doesn’t love? The ones that need a little bit of guidance… the ones on the margins of society?
We envisioned Sam’s Place as a standard for the “Recovery First” model, not a place where you can live comfortably smoking your drugs with Neighbors and getting drunk (like it had been in the past). A place built to restore basic human dignity through safety, structure, and unconditional care.
But choosing to live “Hazzardously” and standing firmly in that gap will come at a cost.
I would be lying if I said it was easy. Battling relentless systemic friction from day one wears on you. We have faced an uphill battle just trying to get the county to acknowledge our Supplemental Service Beds. Even the Sheriff’s hands are tied by a frustrating lack of penalties, leaving us exposed while Prosecutors and Judges refuse to uphold the very laws and established rights that should protect us from trespassing and the abuse of “tenant rights.”
To keep this mission from going under in the face of that friction, Jess and I have had to personally anchor the entire program. We utilized our retirement—putting $200,000 of our own money straight into the startup and building improvements. We then backed that up with another $150,000 loan just to bring the facility up to a usable, dignified standard. Because of that sacrifice, we managed to lift the appraised value to $323,000. (do that math)
We’ve spent our nights chasing down grants, relying on the wonderful folks who see our impact and send in-kind or monetary donations. It’s the little things like dropping $6,000 in repairs just to keep a $9,000 van on the road. And through every single second of this, neither Jess nor I have ever taken a single dime of pay for our time, our labor, or our sacrifice.
So when we strategically listed the physical building for sale to protect our cash flow and keep the mission alive, the public backlash cut deep. We were met with toxic rumors and ugly comments from people claiming we were somehow trying to “get rich.”
The irony is incredibly sharp, but our focus has to be sharper. We listed the brick-and-mortar precisely so the organization can survive. Living Hazzardously doesn’t mean giving up when the noise gets loud; it means making the agonizing choices needed to protect the soul of the mission.
We want to say this clearly and unequivocally to our blog readers, our community, and everyone who believes in us: Jess and I are not retreating. We are digging in and fortifying.
We are shutting out the outside noise and looking directly past this temporary friction. We are here to build a sustainable, long-term legacy that ensures Sam’s Place remains a permanent beacon of hope for Bigfork. The building is just a shell—the mission is our heartbeat.
I fight for your guys, because Jesus saved my soul. What else can I do aside from serving our Lord. C.
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