Five (Actually 8!) Weekly Highlights - December 7, 2012

·         “Lisa” just got a room!  She got a Good Luck box and is very happy.

·         Santa Claus came by with two elves (Julie and Emily from St. Anselm College) distributing gifts of socks for everyone.

·         Selected TEDtalks with positive themes have been well-received.

·         “Ike” came by to celebrate his new car; he beat the bottle and has held a job and housing for a year.

·         Project Homeless Connect at St. Joseph Cathedral gathered providers and resources for a day of giving to equip the homeless for the winter.  The Center and the Recipe for Success Program handled lunch.

·         Gary, our computer guru, equipped us with a better system. Thanks, Gary!

·         We welcomed Kelsey Grist as our new Americorps VISTA worker, filled with enthusiasm.

·         18 college students finished their work at the Center, fulfilling a variety of projects.

Five Weekly Highlight- November 16, 2012

• “Michael” is holding his job and has his own place!  Way to go!
• Several of our people are ringing bells for the Salvation Army!  Good for everyone!
• George & Marilyn responded abundantly to our urgent request for razors.  We are set for a good while.  Thank you so much!!
• Texas Instruments came through with a huge box of donated items, including personal care items and backpacks.  Wow!  Thanks to everyone at TI.
•  We have reached through 200 people per day in November.

Five Weekly Highlights- October 12, 2012

  ·  “Evan” moved into transitional housing earlier this week; he is so relieved

  ·   A former guest, who inherited some money, donated audiovisual equipment.

  · “Janet & Lon” are moving into a new place; they got a good luck box

  ·  Joel donated a copier for our office.

  · “FIVE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS” IS ONE YEAR OLD!  Happy Birthday to us!

Five Weekly Highlights- October 19, 2012

 ·    Tasha, a volunteer, came in to help in the kitchen and decorate the walls with art from her  children’s preschool. Thanks, Tasha!

 ·“Tess” is so excited about the housing she is moving into in a few days.

 ·   Thanks to the good friends who stepped in with donations of razors and shaving cream.

 ·    A local job search consultant came in to offer a session for landing a job. Thanks, Mike!

 ·    A new system for recruiting in-house labor is working very well!

Five Weekly Highlights- October 5, 2012

· “Marty” got an apartment after 5 years of waiting and working. He is so happy!!

· “Big Tim” got into a new place, too. 

· “Wendy” and “Steve” moved into a new place on the West Side.

·  Women from a local church donated hygiene products for our guests.

·  Today we said Thank you and Goodbye to Josh, aka Captain Uno, a wheelchair-bound

    volunteer who has been a source of great joy for the Center for several months.

Five Weekly Highlights - November 9, 2012

• "Gerry" got a new place after months of waiting. He got a Good Luck Box.
• "Mark" got a job, temporary, but he says, "I'm going to make this work.
• We remember Irene, a volunteer who helped in the kitchen since we opened.
• Immanual Lutheran Church has given us a new batch of backpacks. Thanks!
• "Phil" and "Frank" headed home to the Midwest, to beat the winter.

Fear or Rejection

“My greatest fear is asking for help and getting rejected.”

  I heard that comment from a homeless guest who has been aggressively pursuing some positive options in his life. In recent months I have been impressed by his dogged determination using the Center’s phones, computers, mail service and scanning capacity to cobble together a new life.Today he seems poised for success.

            This morning he reviewed his endeavor and said, “This Center has been the lifeline. Everything I needed to make it happen was here. What I realized though is that my greatest fear is asking for help.I am a proud person, and I had to figure out how, at 45 years of age, I could ask for help. Getting rejected just destroys me. Like many homeless here, we get rejected and denied over and over again, and we lose heart. But this time I’m gonna make it.”

            His story is dramatic, but it illustrates one of the fundamental features of the Center, giving the homeless the tools they need to access systems and pursue plans. We also try to provide a critical but intangible resource: encouragement. In the face of persistent fear and constant rejection, reality-based encouragement often makes the difference. We have to believe that. We have to.


Written By: Christopher Emerson, Director, Manchester Homeless Services Center