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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: March 1, 2017
It’s hard to talk about homelessness without talking about mental illness. An oft-quoted estimate suggests that as many as one-third of homeless individuals suffer from serious mental illness. But notice the qualifier “serious.” What is mental...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: February 10, 2017
Recently we ran a series on God’s love for the poor which, in my mind at least, begs the question: “How does he feel about the rich?” Does he love...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: February 3, 2017
The UGM Crisis Shelter for Women and Children is approaching its 13th anniversary in January. While the surroundings have changed dramatically in the...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: January 18, 2017
As we shared in an earlier blog post, UGM stresses the importance of individual accountability for staff and residents. In this post, we want to...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: January 10, 2017
By Barbara Comito, UGM Marketing Director Who would ever read a blog post on Total Accountability? My staff said they wouldn’t. (So I changed the...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: December 30, 2016
This is the third part of a series by UGM Marketing Director Barbara Comito. So far in this series, we’ve pretty well established that God does...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: December 23, 2016
Love is not a victory march. It’s a cold and it’s a broken hallelujah. -Leonard Cohen By Barbara Comito, Director of Marketing A young friend asked...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: December 20, 2016
In her last post, Barbara revisited what the Bible says about God's instruction for us to "love the poor." Here, she digs deeper into what that...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: December 8, 2016
Editor's note: This is Part 1 in a three-part series about loving the poor. Part 2 explores the meaning of the word "love"in this context, and Part 3...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: November 29, 2016
(Editor's note: The following article appeared in the Coeur d'Alene Press on November 26, 2016) Three years ago, Helen Webster, 60, was living on the...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: October 25, 2016
My title is Director of Marketing & Communications, but my job is telling stories. For almost nine years, in one way or another, I’ve been...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: January 26, 2016
By Barbara Comito, Director of Marketing and Communications 2015 was a rough year for me and my family. My husband lost his job of 16 years due to a...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: December 1, 2015
Troy is a likable guy with a quick smile. He learned and remembered my name the first time I met him, and ever since then, if I pass him – even if...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: November 24, 2015
By Barbara Comito, UGM Director of Marketing & Communications For most of his 49 years, Keith Kautzman had a pattern of behavior: Whenever difficulty...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: November 20, 2015
1) Cold Care Cups.
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: November 5, 2015
Editor's Note: This blog post is part of a series on homelessness. Part 1 explained the magnitude and complexity of the problem. Part 2 was a story...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: November 3, 2015
Editor's Note: This blog post was first pubished on December 12, 2013 and has been thoroughly updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness. It's part...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: October 2, 2015
The Union Gospel Mission serves more than 900 meals a day at its four shelters, and if you’ve ever visited during meal time, you know we’re not...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: September 10, 2015
By Barbara Comito, UGM Director of Marketing & Communications In early summer, the UGM Marketing & Communications team (two graphic designers, a...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: August 21, 2015
Alcohol has dominated Jill Connor's life for the better part of 15 years. She has been through five separate treatment centers, but her sobriety...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: August 19, 2015
Editor's Note: Jill lost her battle with alcoholism on August 28, 2018. Relapse on Repeat By Barbara Comito, UGM Director of Marketing &...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: June 10, 2015
When Jill was 36, her 10-year-old son died of leukemia. Four years later, her mom died of cancer. The grief threatened to swallow Jill whole.
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: April 1, 2015
Poor work history. Felony record. Long periods of unemployment. Addiction issues. Lack of education. No transportation. No appropriate work attire....
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: March 24, 2015
You are too. By Barbara Comito, UGM Director of Marketing I am SOOO not a party girl. My idea of a great time is a hot bath with a detective mystery....
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: January 29, 2015
My One Word: Wrestle By Barbara Comito, UGM Director of Marketing For the past several years, rather than make a list of New Years' resolultions,...
