Two Nights in Bismarck

We spent two nights in Bismarck, ND. We were staying at the YMCA, which presented some challenges and some additional benefits. The challenge was that the area where we are allowed to sleep was the day care space. The day care opened at 7:30 in the  morning and didn’t close until 7 pm. This meant that we had to pack up the trailer an additional time in morning to get all of our stuff out of their way.

The biggest advantage of staying there was that we had access to their facilities for the entire duration of the stay. One night, we got to play basketball and volleyball as late as we wanted to stay up. The next day, various people went swimming, lifted weights, and (our personal favorite) played racquetball.

The build day was a little different than most build days. We couldn't find an affordable housing organization that had the capacity to partner with 26 people, so instead we had a day to learn more about affordable housing in Bismarck. We attended a meeting with the Bismarck Supportive Housing Coalition, which brings together various nonprofit and government housing organizations. Unfortunately, the group was most excited about hearing about our trip, and less interested in telling us about what they do. We found out that they value being in a less populous state, since it makes collaboration easier. On the other hand, the oil boom in the western half of the state drove up home prices across the state. The group said that they have only been getting widespread publicity and support recently, when the last homeless shelter in the city closed. Luckily, they quickly got the shelter back open in time for winter this year, and have plans to expand and open another shelter soon.