OUR MISSION: The BARN will act as a transparent organization to help create functional and dynamic partnerships between area service providers to increase advocacy efforts for the homeless.


Join the Planning Committee

Planning Committee Positions

We are always looking for help on the PHC planning committee. If you are interested in joining the committee, please contact co-chair Joe Chalupa at (406) 248-4803, ext. 100.

Co-chairs: Responsible for guiding the process of event planning. Set meeting dates and agendas, facilitate regular meetings, and determine annual PHC spending allowances. Serve as public representatives of the event by making media appearances and promoting the event from November through January.

Coordinator: Works closely with the co-chairs to keep the event planning process organized. Attends all regular meetings, keeps records of progress, and delegates work as needed. Ensures timelines are adhered to and regularly updates the work plan. Is responsible for coordination of overall event planning, and is available for daily correspondence concerning event progress. Responsible for post-event data collection and reporting.

Volunteer Coordinator: Responsible for contacting and securing event volunteers of all ages and levels of experience for both the event and event set-up/tear-down. Coordinates the entire scope of the community volunteer effort for the day of the event, including "floater" volunteers, greeters, and elevator volunteers. Provides all necessary pre-event training to volunteers via the volunteer orientation, and is available to direct the volunteer effort on the day of the event.

American Indian Services Leader: Recruits agencies that provide services aimed at assisting American Indians, and serves as their primary contact person for all major pre-event communication. Is available the day before the event to assist agencies with all necessary preparatory work, and accommodates the needs of the agencies on the day of the event. Facilitates data collection and post-event reporting on the behalf of agencies that provide services aimed at assisting American Indians, and is responsible for providing that information to the event coordinator.

Children's Area Leader: Organizes the children's area to accommodate between ten and twenty-five children, and provides activities for children of all ages. Establishes sign-in/sign-out policies and a list of rules for the children's area to ensure children are safe and secure at all times. Trains children's area volunteers during the volunteer orientation.

Food Service Leaders: Solicit donations of food from local organizations prior to the event. Organize, prepare and serve breakfast, lunch and snacks on the day of the event. Train and oversee food service volunteers. Maintain records of donors for future reference.

Government and Employment Services Leader: Recruits agencies that provide government and employment-related services, and serves as their primary contact person for all major pre-event communication. Is available the day before the event to assist agencies with all necessary preparatory work, and accommodates the needs of the agencies on the day of the event. Facilitates data collection and post-event reporting on the behalf of agencies that provide government and employment-related services, and is responsible for providing that information to the event coordinator.

Haircut Services Leader: Recruits students from the Academy of Nail, Skin and Hair to volunteer their services for the event, and coordinates the use of New Attitudes Salon in downtown Billings for the day of the event. Is available the day before the event to do any necessary preparatory work, and accommodates the needs of the student volunteers and the owner of New Attitudes Salon on the day of the event. Facilitates data collection and post-event reporting related to haircut services, and is responsible for providing that information to the event coordinator.

Healthcare Services Leader(s): Recruits physicians and other healthcare providers-individually and in groups-who are able to provide services to event attendees, and serves as the primary contact person for all major pre-event communication. Is available the day before the event to assist healthcare providers with all necessary preparatory work, and accommodates the needs of the healthcare providers on the day of the event.. Facilitates data collection and post-event reporting on the behalf of agencies that provide healthcare services, and is responsible for providing that information to the event coordinator.

Hosts Leader: Develops the entry survey for the event and works with the volunteer coordinator to determine appropriate shifts for entry volunteers. Trains volunteers to properly administer the entry survey during the volunteer orientation, and serves as the survey expert on the day of the event. Oversees the overall survey and welcoming process on the day of the event. Is responsible for keeping track of all survey-related paperwork, and providing that information to the event coordinator at the conclusion of the event.

Housing Leader: Recruits agencies that provide services related to housing, and serves as their primary contact person for all major pre-event communication. Is available the day before the event to assist agencies with all necessary preparatory work, and accommodates the needs of the agencies on the day of the event. Facilitates data collection and post-event reporting on the behalf of agencies that provide housing-related services, and is responsible for providing that information to the event coordinator.

Parking and Transportation Leader(s): Responsible for overseeing all transportation-related aspects of the event. Establishes clearly marked parking spaces for service providers, volunteers and event attendees along side streets and within nearby parking lots, and creates parking maps for distribution to volunteers and service providers. Develops parking passes for volunteer/service provider use, both during event set-up and the day-long event. Creates and sets up parking lot signs that direct guests to the Store and Haircut Services. Coordinates and oversees the efforts of the City's Purple People team for the day of the event, including directing traffic, distributing parking tokens, re-filling expired meters, and managing any parking issues that arise during the event.

Public Relations Leader: Responsible for disseminating all press-related items including press releases, posters, and statements approved by pertinent stakeholders. Serves as the chair of the public relations committee, and establishes meeting times and agendas. Develops a timeline for promotion efforts and makes progress reports to the planning group at regular meetings. Is available throughout the planning process to provide information and updates to interested members of the media. Guides media relations on the day of the event (including media waivers and release-form tracking). Prepares post-event follow-up press releases.

Store Leader: Solicits donations from new and existing sources and organizes donations of clothing and hygiene supplies prior to the event. Trains store volunteers prior to the event. Oversees set-up the day before the event, handles operation of the store on the day of the event, and is responsible for post-event clean up.

Veterans Services Leader: Recruits agencies that provide services aimed at assisting veterans, and serves as the primary contact person for all major pre-event communication. Is available the day before the event to assist agencies with all necessary preparatory work, and accommodates the needs of the agencies on the day of the event. Facilitates data collection and post-event reporting on the behalf of agencies that provide services aimed at assisting veterans, and is responsible for providing that information to the event coordinator.

Social Services Leader: Recruits an assortment of agencies that provide various social services (services that do not clearly fall into one of the other subcommittee categories), and serves as their primary contact person for all major pre-event communication. Is available the day before the event to assist agencies with all necessary preparatory work, and accommodates the needs of the agencies on the day of the event. Facilitates data collection and post-event reporting on the behalf of agencies that provide various social services, and is responsible for providing that information to the event coordinator.