Longtime Sojourners’ Alliance director to resign

Steve Bonnar has endured extreme physical and emotional pain during his 14 years at the helm of Moscow’s Sojourners’ Alliance.

Financial shortfalls, a fire that significantly damaged the transitional housing facility and an assault that left Bonnar with a separated shoulder, broken ribs and other injuries are recent examples.

But Bonnar, 64, said Sojourners’ is in a better place now than when he started, and will be in good hands moving forward.

Bonnar’s last full day as executive director is Friday. Cliff McAleer, who has served as case manager and then assistant executive director at Sojourners’ the past three years, will assume Bonnar’s position.

“I’m grateful for the work we’ve done and what I’ve done,” Bonnar said. “It’s time to pass the mantle onto somebody else to carry it. I feel really good about what I’ve put into this and I can walk away with my head held high and I’ve done the best I can.”

Bonnar said he will continue to provide financial oversight the next three months. He said he is not sure what he will do for work in a few months, but he will stay in the area.

He said the transition started in early January after Bonnar told his staff he would soon leave Sojourners’.

Bonnar said he is resigning because he wants to focus on himself. He said he is still trying to heal from the emotional wounds left by the assault.

Bonnar and others were attacked in July 2017 outside one of Sojourners’ apartments on North Van Buren Street.

He told the Daily News in August 2017 that he dialed 911 after he determined a domestic dispute had taken place between a Sojourners’ tenant and her boyfriend. He said the man charged and attacked him as he was talking to a dispatcher.

Bonnar said one of the Sojourners’ security guards sustained three broken ribs and one of the residents cracked a vertebrate.

He said he is still in physical pain “all the time” from the incident and that he lost half the use of his left shoulder even after surgery.

With Sojourners’ and his job prior, Bonnar said he has been on call for about the past 17 years, meaning he has had to respond to emergency calls, such as the extreme case of the assault, at all hours of the day.

“I’m really looking forward to not being tied to my phone,” he said.

Despite the hardships, Bonnar said the nonprofit organization is financially stable for the first time and it has a positive reputation in the community with the services it provides.

Bonnar said police used to respond to Sojourners’ frequently but the organization’s expanded services over the years have improved residents’ lives and allowed them to become productive members of society.

Sojourners’ offers transitional housing for men, women and families on site. Off site, it provides permanent supportive housing for homeless people with disabilities; homeless prevention funds for those experiencing hardships like power shutoffs and eviction notices; and rapid rehousing in which Sojourners’ will provide homeless motel rooms for homeless people and assist them in finding employment and a permanent residence. It can also help pay a deposit and several months worth of rent to support them when they do find a residence, Bonnar said.

As of 2018, Sojourners’ is also the access point for Idaho’s Region 2 — Latah, Nez Perce, Clearwater, Idaho and Lewis counties — for a homelessness response system that prioritizes those with the greatest needs rather than the first-come, first-serve approach that homeless service providers used in the past.

Those in need of housing in Region 2 can call Sojourners’ and undergo a screening process to determine the level of need. People are then connected to the right service.

“The services we are providing today are quite significant compared to 14 years ago and our budget has just about doubled from 14 years ago,” Bonnar said.

Garrett Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.