sometimes

ALL SOMEONE NEEDS is just to BE HEARD, qo know that someone is taking the time to listen and CARE ABOUT THEM.

At Gladys Ray, Rivenes realized something big: the importance of a good support system. “The people I met were not much different than me,” she says. “The main thing that seemed to separate us was pure luck.” Luck, Rivenes says, that she was raised by a family she could rely on when times got tough. If there was something too big for her to handle, she knew that not only her immediate family, but also her extended family, would be there.

After that summer at Gladys Ray, and following her graduation from Minnesota State University in 2012, eight years after she had begun, Rivenes finally achieved her ultimate goal of being a social worker and was hired as a case manager for the Supportive Service for Veterans Families Program at the Salvation Army. In that position, Rivenes worked hard getting those that were homeless into housing, and maintaining housing for those that were in crisis. When that position’s funding was moved to another organization, Rivenes chose to stay with the Salvation Army, becoming the organization’s Pathway of Hope case manager and service point data integrity specialist. In layman’s terms, she was a fully immersed life coach, helping clients reach their goals by breaking the cycle of inter-generational poverty using methods that were never taught to them in their lifetime. On top of that, she kept track of all the people served by Salvation Armies across North Dakota, making sure people and program reports were done correctly and the programs themselves were affective. Now Rivenes is the Salvation Army’s volunteer and public relations manager, juggling people and situations and making sure the right help, gets in the right place at the right time.

Rivenes has many stories that she feels validate she took the right path in life.

As a case manager for the veterans’ community she served, she had one client who she made regular visits to. His home, by choice of his own, was a hay bale. Because of the effects his PTSD, he was most comfortable living outside. By accepting this, and understanding that everyone has different needs, Rivenes was able to form a relationship and help get him the services he actually wanted and needed.

Rivenes, like many on her team at the Salvation Army, understand that generational poverty is overcome one success at a time, big or small. Rivenes’ team helped one woman whose main obstacle was getting her driver’s license. A caseworker on Rivenes’ team at the Salvation Army helped her practice behind the wheel, and the team cleared their parking lot to help the woman learn parallel parking. Getting her driver’s license brought her one step further away from poverty as she could perform the basic tasks of getting to her job, transporting her small children to daycare and other appointments, and maintaining a household.

On another occasion, Rivenes remembers talking to a man who came in to the Salvation Army for food who she learned had been living in his car for months. It was winter and Rivenes didn’t like the idea of him being in his car in the cold. She called a landlord with whom she had a good rapport and found out he had a vacant apartment, but it required cleaning before anyone could move in. Rivenes brought the man to view the apartment that same day. After seeing it, he said he was more than willing to move in as-is and clean it himself. The landlord said he didn’t think it right that the man have to clean his own apartment, so he offered to pay him to clean it instead. A few weeks later, the man came by to visit Rivenes. He told her he had recently been taken to the emergency room and pronounced dead on the table. He told her he wouldn’t have made it had he not had his new apartment. Because of his new home, he felt like he had something to live for. Something to go back to and take care of.

It’s not a question what Rivenes goes back for. Each and every week she knows she’s got people like that man to take care of, to help—something her parents instilled in her since her childhood. “My parents are some of the best influences on my life,” says Rivenes. “If someone was struggling, you helped them—that is just how it was.”

Not only did their spirit of service inspire Rivenes, but their personal stories were an inspiration for her eventual career change.

“My parents taught me that no goal is too high,” she says, explaining that both of her parents came from very low-income backgrounds. Growing up, Rivenes’ father’s family did not have running water. He had to take showers at school. Her mom was ten years old and one of ten children when their father died. Rivenes’ grandmother became the sole breadwinner of a family that had one pair of boots between ten kids—each taking turns going outside to play in the snow. Both Rivenes’ parents went on to prove obstacles can be overcome if you have goals. Both, for instance, went to college and became teachers. They were very involved in civic roles in their community. Rivenes says, “Anytime there was something going on in town, my parents were either the head of it or involved in some way.” When Rivenes was ten, her father went back to college, all while still working full-time and coaching sports. He became a principal, and eventually a superintendent. Rivenes remembers her own decision to go back to school for social work during one of the busiest times in her own life. “I thought, if he could do it while raising four kids, then so could I,” she says.

Rivenes’ mom stepped up when her dad went back to school, and Rivenes had her own spouse, Danny, supporting her in every way. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without him,” she says. “He would take the kids out so I could lock myself in the bedroom and do my homework.” When she went back to school she knew she was giving up time with her kids. “Everyday was hard,” she says. “Just finding the time to be there for my kids and not miss important moments in their life.” It was a delicate balance. On top of staying involved with family life, she also wanted to find time to do everything cor- rectly in school, plus she didn’t want to neglect her job. “No matter what, I always felt I was missing out on something,” she explains. “ But I knew it would get better eventually and that is what kept me going.”

Rivenes and her husband have been married now for 19 years. Their two daughters are now in their mid and late teens. The eight years it took to finish her degree were some of the most trying times Rivenes says she’s gone through, but she’s firm that she made the right choices for herself and her family. “I would not change a thing,” says Rivenes. She’ll admit, however, that if she’d had to have a full-time job on top of the full-time internship for any longer period than that last summer of school, she may not have been able to physically make it. “I barely slept during that time,” she says. “It was the most fascinating, draining time in my life. But I truly got to understand what this population’s struggles are and what they’re going through. If I hadn’t had that internship, I wouldn’t have had a grasp on what I’m doing today.”

Having served individuals directly, Rivenes is better attuned to the needs of the people she’s helping while organizing the volunteer labor for the programs she supports. “I don’t think people realize that we have a very small staff at the Salvation Army, so we rely heavily on our volunteers,” Rivenes says.