CONTRIBUTED PHOTO House of Compassion client Shari Hippen is one of 13 HoC volunteers and clients to be given American Heart Association CPR-AED training made possible by a grant from the Marshall County Community Foundation. Instructor Emmy Cuvelier, who is also Miss Central Iowa, has been leading the trainings.

“We’re training people in CPR and how to use the AED.”

House of Compassion Director Karen Frohwein said knowing CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) are important skills for both organization volunteers and clients.

“We’re training both our volunteers and the people who use our services,” she said, adding 13 people have been trained so far.

The goal is to reach 45 people trained, and Frohwein said the opportunity was possible because of a Marshall County Community Foundation grant.

“We purchased an AED through a grant from the Community Foundation,” she said, adding Emmy Cuvelier has been leading the CPR-AED classes, and the training is through the American Heart Association.

Another major change at the HoC is that second helpings will no longer be served at the soup kitchen, which runs from 5-6:15 p.m. Sunday through Friday. Second helpings used to be served at 5:30 p.m., but Frohwein said the change has kept some people from lingering.

“They were in here a longer period of time,” she said. “The dining room is very crowded at 5 o’clock, and I think it makes people hesitate [about] coming to eat with us.”

Another concern had to do with diffusing possible tensions between patrons that might come up.

“If there’s a situation where there’s some tension, the longer they sit … the better chance we have of something going wrong,” Frohwein said.

Additionally, HoC volunteers now have a 30-minute setup time between office hours, which end at 4:15 p.m., and when the soup kitchen opens at 4:45 p.m.

“It’s worked well … it just gives us a little bit of a break,” Frohwein said

She said the schedule change, combined with not allowing second helpings, has improved the functionality of the soup kitchen for clients and volunteers. Now, she said, a dinner crowd comes in around 5 p.m. and usually dissipates by 5:30, opening up the dining room for other hungry people and families.

“I really encourage people who maybe don’t want to be in a crowded place, or have children … to just come in at 5:30,” Frohwein said. “We serve continuously from 5-6:15 p.m. … there’s still plenty of food.”

Reaction to changes

A third change being made at the HoC is that showers will now be available for those in need.

“On Tuesdays and Thursdays, people can come in and take a shower,” Frohwein said, adding the shower is open during regular offices hours on those days: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1-4:15 p.m. “It’s just a dignity thing.”

Some HoC clients had good things to say about the new shower availability and new CPR-AED training.

“This is a very big deal,” said HoC client Kay Stohr. She said she doesn’t currently have access to a shower facility, and the free HoC service has been a good move for many.

Stohr also said she appreciates the volunteers who serve at the soup kitchen, and said she liked that they now have a half-hour setup period between the end of business hours and serving dinner.

Fellow client Dean Oziah said he uses the shower every Tuesday and Thursday, and that he also doesn’t have access to another shower facility.

Stohr said she has gone through and enjoyed CPR-AED training through the organization. Despite already learning CPR, she said it was good to take a “refresher” course.

Oziah said he hasn’t yet taken the course, but said he’d “like to.”

A steady stream of shower users made their way through the HoC Tuesday along with Oziah and Stohr, happy to get a chance to freshen up, a chance many don’t have day-to-day.

For more on the HoC, go to the organization’s Facebook page or visit https://www.unitedwaymarshalltown.org/hoc.