Maureen Beauregard, president of FIT in front of the shelter's donor wall. Photo by Christine Carignan
Some couch surf, staying for a couple of nights or weeks at a friend’s house before moving on. Others huddle in a car. Still others are out on the street. They are NH’s homeless families.
A first-of-its-kind shelter in Manchester is bringing the services such families need under one roof. The recently opened Family Place Resource Center and Shelter, a $2.4 million project, is expected to provide emergency housing for up to 80 parents and 120 children annually. It will also be a resource center for homeless families in Manchester to receive essential services and meals.
The center includes a therapeutic childcare center, a Head Start program, a medical clinic, and access to both job training programs and permanent, affordable housing.
The center is the brainchild of Families in Transition (FIT), a nonprofit with operations in Manchester, Concord and Dover that provides safe, affordable housing and social services to individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. FIT also owns and operates two thrift stores in Manchester and Concord.
“We’re the first place people will go to. We will have a coordinated entry,” says FIT President Maureen Beauregard. “By the end of that day, we will find them a place [to stay].”
Among the nonprofit partners assisting with the project is Goodwill Industries, which will pilot a program to provide employment services onsite including an employment assessment. “The best protective factor for kids is their parents. A child who sees a parent going to work and doing something meaningful will become a teenager and adult who will do the same,” Beauregard says. “It is about offering tools to step out of poverty.”
A dining area provides family-style meals so families can sit together. New Horizons, a local shelter, soup kitchen and pantry, is funding a cook to prepare healthy meals and snacks onsite.
Beauregard says it was not difficult to bring the nonprofit partners together for this project. “People lined up to sign up and continue to call to do more with us.”
The shelter was designed with a homey feel and is meant to house families for 30 to 90 days.
Colorful artwork adorns the walls and the private waiting room is stocked with snacks. The shelter has 11 bedrooms of various sizes and each has a coded entry for privacy. Every room also has a closet with shelves. Bathrooms include a welcome basket with toiletries.
One of the 11 bedrooms at the shelter. Photo by Christine Carignan.
“When you are homeless, everything is in disarray. It’s hard on kids. We want to help families get organized,” Beauregard says.
Each bathroom includes a welcome basket filled with toiletries. Photos by Christine Carignan.
The shelter is open and staffed 24/7 by FIT and its partners. Beauregard says having a model like this is essential as less than 2 percent of affordable housing in the state is available to the poor. “By the time a family is homeless, they face multiple barriers and need intensive case management,” Beauregard says, adding she is confident this model will inspire similar shelters. “We want to give families a feeling of hope,’ Beauregard says.
Current Issue - April 2024