On February 16, 2015 the police came to Hundred Nights Cold Weather Shelter with “a situation” that involved a retired gentleman, aged 68, on a fixed income. Joe Z. was a recent transplant to the area, leaving his retirement home down south to be closer to his family, as he missed his grandchildren. He had a temporary place to stay while he looked for housing – and then he didn’t. After he was told to leave his temporary housing with his suitcases, Joe called the police. He had no transportation and knew nothing about services available in this area. It was dark, late, freezing cold and snowy. The police delivered him to Hundred Nights. Over the next 7 weeks while Joe stayed here at Hundred Nights he was able to access the following services and supplies at the Shelter and Resource Center:
- Joe had a clean bed in a warm and safe place each night he stayed
- the staff worked with Joe to cancel his food stamps and Medicaid in another state, and reapply in NH
- Joe was able to receive warm winter clothing and personal care products that were donated
- laundry facilities on site that he used
- transportation to Doctor appointments, the hospital, Service-Link, SCS and the DMV was provided through the generosity of the community
- Joe received his mail at the 17 Lamson St address
- coffee, snacks and lunch food during the week, and dinners on the weekends, donated and prepared by people in the community
- staff help with housing applications at Keene, SCS and Cheshire Housing and an appointment was made for him with the Housing Coordinator at SCS
Joe has volunteered on several occasions to help out at Hundred Nights events, and has become “famous” for giving advice to the younger guests. In April, 2015, Jim was able to move into his own apartment in Keene, where his family and grandchildren regularly visit him! He recently completed a Basic Computer Skills class here at the Hundred Nights Open Doors Resource Center with a volunteer teacher from the community. Joe is currently pursuing part-time work opportunities and babysitting as needed.
