Transitional housing in Nashua gives families a fresh start
Family Promise of Southern New Hampshire has opened a new transitional housing facility in Nashua for families experiencing homelessness. Executive director Pamela Wellman talked about the facility’s amenities and programs and the demographic they serve.
How did Family Promise come to acquire this new building?
We were on the grounds of the Presentation of Mary Academy in Hudson … for almost 18 years. … Then, we found [the property formerly occupied by] Infant Jesus School in downtown Nashua … and have gone through a six-month capital campaign and renovation project … to build a beautiful brand new home for our mission and for our families. We worked very closely with the City of Nashua … and we got a $2.7 million grant through Gov. Sununu’s New Hampshire CARES Act and the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority … so there have been a lot of partnerships supporting us throughout this whole thing. … We were able to bring our first families in on Feb. 15. Starting on March 29, we’ll be able to bring in the second phase of families. … Our capital campaign will continue for the next two years … to sustain the program operationally, and to support the families.
What is the new facility like?
It’s 35,000 square feet — twice the size of our former facility — with 48 bedrooms, which translates to about 25 family units, so about 80 or 90 people. It’s got a beautiful dining area, a commercial kitchen, a laundry facility and plenty of storage space. … Each family has their own bath … and refrigerator space and cabinet space. They’ve got everything they need. They have a real home here, and they live a real life here. … We also have a filtration system, so if a family does contract Covid, they can quarantine in their units; we don’t have to place them elsewhere and put that burden on the community.
Who does Family Promise serve?
There are so many transitional housing and shelter programs in Greater Nashua, and we each share a certain piece of the pie when it comes to homelessness. Ours is family; we take families — moms and dads with children, single fathers and single mothers with children, and families however they identify themselves — and we keep them together. … Sixty-five percent of our community is children.
Aside from providing transitional housing, how does Family Promise help families experiencing homelessness regain independence?
One of the programs people work once they come here is financial literacy. … They have to save up to 75 percent of their disposable income in their own savings account so they get used to budgeting and paying rent again. We supply their food, toiletries and daily living supplies so that they can start saving that money. … Working full-time is a requirement … because you can’t save money unless you’ve got income, right? It’s not a handout. They’ve got to do the hard work, but we guide them through it. If people don’t have a job, we help them with their resume and help them look for jobs and realize their potential as professionals and career-builders.
We help them regain driver’s licenses and vehicles, if they don’t already have them. We help them get back in school to finish a certification so they can maximize their professional acumen. … We offer parenting and family advocacy courses to help them navigate any emotional trauma that homelessness has put on them as well as their children. … We’ve also got tons of great youth programs and activities here so that kids can take a deep breath and learn to play and be kids again.
What are some of the circumstances leading to families seeking transitional housing?
The stereotypical idea of what homelessness is — the impoverished person living under the bridge — is an important population of people to serve, but that’s not the only face of homelessness. Homelessness among children and youth ages 18 to 24 in New Hampshire is staggering. We see a lot of younger families who don’t have the support system of family or friends outside of themselves to help them get through [homelessness] and have no other place to go. … People don’t realize that one of the most prominent faces of homelessness is the average working family making minimum to slightly-higher-than-minimum wage. They are the ones that fall through the cracks. The current housing market doesn’t support them. They don’t qualify for many lower-income supports, but they don’t make enough money to get back up on their feet. … We’ve all seen the tremendous impact that Covid has had on these middle-class families, or have been personally affected by it. One crisis — a job loss, having to take a lesser-paying job, a family break-up or divorce, or a health tragedy — can send them spiralling into homelessness.
How would you describe the community at Family Promise?
It becomes a family. So many of our graduates become best friends because there’s a comfort in knowing that you’re not alone and that there are other people going through the same thing. … Sixty-five percent of our graduates actually come back and volunteer here and [remain a] part of our extended family.
Featured photo: Pamela Wellman Courtesy photo.
