MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Hello Hundred Nights Supporters,
As part of our quest for a newer, larger, and better facility, we have an exciting year planned!
Hundred Nights (HN) bases our top programmatic goals on the work we are entering into as part of a newly formed collaborative called the Cheshire County Emergency Housing Collaborative (CCEHC). Together with Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention and Southwestern Community Services, we created this collaboration to apply for Monadnock United Way funding going forward and most importantly to work better together for our clients. CCEHC will offer a continuum of services to homeless persons and those individuals and families experiencing housing instability by implementing three best practice strategies: Low Barrier, Trauma Informed Care, and Housing First.
HN, as part of CCEHC, will use the best practices listed above to accomplish three goals:
(1) Provide emergency shelter services and basic needs to those in crisis. HN will keep its shelter open year-round and maintain an adequate supply of basic food, personal care items, clothing; provide haircuts, showers and laundry facilities; and an active referral network to pertinent community resources. An emergency shelter is a building block to regaining self-sufficiency.
2) Provide educational opportunities for those at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness. We will hold classes in financial education, tenancy, life skills, resume writing and interview skills, anger management, tobacco cessation, bicycle repair, parenting, literacy, GED and job skills. The three agencies, as well as interns and volunteers from the community, will provide counseling services, access to dental health, nutrition, art therapy, movement, and more.
(3) Increase clients’ financial stability by accessing available federal, state, and local housing resources. CCEHC members, including HN, will provide housing-focused case management and will utilize a community-based coordinated entry system.
The coordinated entry system is designed to optimize a client’s ability to obtain appropriate housing resources:
a. Assistance with applications for affordable or subsidized housing providers and first month’s rent/security deposits.
b. Obtaining required forms for housing providers ie identification cards, SS cards, and birth certificates.
c. Gather income and benefits verifications
Hundred Nights Strategic Business Plan 2019-2022 contains three organizational goals:
1. Increase the community’s understanding of the cause and effects of homelessness and increase support from the community for those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
2. Ensure that HN has a sustainable business and financial model that enables us to carry out our mission, while identifying and obtaining a safe facility that meets the needs of those we serve, is financially sustainable, and affirms the respect of the larger community, the staff, and those we serve.
3. Ensure that the programs offered by HN provide optimum services for those we serve, and that those individuals who are at risk of becoming homeless, or are
currently homeless, receive sufficient services from HN to allow them to maximize their potential.
These programmatic and organizational goals and objectives are essential if Hundred Nights is to be successful. We look forward to your engagement and support in this adventure. If you would like to be part of our new Advocacy Committee, please let us know!
Sincerely,
Mindy Cambiar
Executive Director
MISSION STATEMENT
The Mission of Hundred Nights, Inc. is to provide shelter and crisis-related services to the displaced or homeless. Our goal is to collaborate with and enable the community to see, hear and support those among us who are equally deserving of dignity but who currently lack the means to live independently. Our Vision is that every individual in the Cheshire County area will have access to appropriate, stable housing so they can live safe, productive and satisfying lives and be respected members of their community.
OPEN HOUSE AT HUNDRED NIGHTS SHELTER AND RESOURCE CENTER
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2019 • 10:00 AM -2:00 PM
Drop in and see the setting that provides shelter and services for those in need.
See for yourself the environment and services provided in limited space with restricted resources.
6TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY AUCTION
Join us on Saturday, December 14, 2019 for a combination live and silent Holiday auction.
Your participation will help us to keep the Shelter and Resource Center doors open this winter!
This is how you can participate in the online/silent part of the Auction: Starting on November 8th there will be a list on the Hundred Nights’ website (www.hundrednightsinc.org) of all of the donated items, services and git certificates, and what the minimum bid is for each one. If you see an item you would like to bid on please send an email to mcambiar@hundrednightsinc.org with your name, email and phone number, the description of the item and the amount you would like to bid. The initials of the highest current bidder with the amount of the bid will be listed on the website next to the description of the item….so keep checking to see if you are still in the running! The bid that reaches face value, or higher, by December 7th at 3 pm will win that item, and it will not go to the live auction. Winners of those items can come in to the Hundred Nights ofice before or ater the live auction to pick up their item(s), or can ask us to bring them to the live auction to pick up.
Then, join us in the Dining Hall at the United Church of Christ on Central Square, in Keene, NH, for the Live Auction! Parking and the entrance door are on the Vernon St. side of the building. Preview of available items and registration will begin at 8 am. Live bidding will begin at 9 am!
Any item that has not been won before the preview opens at 8am will be available for silent bidding between 8 and 8:45 am. Again, if the bid reaches face value or higher by 8:45 am that item will be won and not be part of the Live Auction, which begins at 9am!
Local auctioneer, Brandt Onorato, from Moggie’s Auction House in Marlborough, is generously donating his time to preside over the live portion of the event. Refreshments will be available for purchase.
Please call Mindy at 352-5197 if you have any questions or would like to donate an item or help in some way! We can always use help putting up posters and cooking food!
Hundred Nights Inc is a Monadnock United Way Partner Agency. We thank all of you who donate through the United Way!
IMPACT OF YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you so much to all of you who have made gifts to support Hundred Nights. I can’t tell you how much your support means to the men, women and children who come to Hundred Nights because we help give them hope for a brighter future.
For those who have no home, whether a man who has lost his job and can no longer pay his rent or a woman and children who had to leave an abusive situation, being newly homeless in our community can be frightening. For those suffering with multiple issues such as mental illness or substance misuse, the added burden of homelessness can quickly become life-threatening. But it doesn’t have to be that way, thanks to those who lend a hand through their support of Hundred Nights.
The hope you give through your simple act of caring can help those who seek a safe home get back on their feet. The support they receive year-round through Hundred Nights, whether shelter in the cold or access to a computer and assistance applying for jobs, helps hundreds of people of all ages to get back on a path to a warm, safe home.
Thank you all for being a part of our community – your generosity will change and save lives, giving hope to those among us who are working to regain the warmth of home.
ASSISTANCE WITH DIGNITY
The Shelter and Resource Center are here to provide immediate, compassionate assistance to people struggling with homelessness, including:
1. Basic Needs are Met – a bed, a shower, laundry facilities, haircuts, weekday breakfast and lunch food, weekend dinners, personal care items and clothing
2. Educational Opportunities and Referrals to other community resources and services – Workshops and classes are held on topics ranging from financial education, job and life skills and anger management to bicycle repair, nutrition, art and music therapy and counseling either at Hundred Nights or at other agencies
3. Assist clients with applications for affordable/subsidized housing, programs that help provide first month’s rent or security deposits, and benefits such as Medicaid and Food Stamps.
4. Assist with obtaining birth certificates, Social Security cards, ID’s, and documentation of financial income and benefits received
WHAT’S NEXT
Safe and permanent housing can give people the stability they need to organize their lives, improve their health, and address any underlying issues such as mental health or substance use disorder. The entire community benefits when everyone has stable, affordable housing. People who are chronically homeless often make extensive use of public services, such as shelters, hospitals, emergency rooms, jails and prisons, all at a great cost to the community. Permanent, supportive housing decreases the use of all these public services, which reduces the need for public funding.
Hundred Nights, Inc. is now in a collaborative relationship with Southwestern Community Services and Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention to work together on all of the above and a Housing First initiative.
HUNDRED NIGHTS COLD WEATHER SHELTER
MONTH # OF NIGHTS OPEN AVG # OF GUESTS PER NIGHT
Jul 2018 31 1
Aug 31 4
Sep 30 8
Oct 31 7
Nov 30 19
Dec 2018 31 26
Jan 2019 31 32
Feb 28 38
Mar 31 31
Apr 30 20
May 31 11
Jun 2019 30 13
RESOURCE CENTER
MONTH # OF VISITS AVG # OF GUESTS PER DAY
Jul 2018 1009 33
Aug 1100 35
Sep 948 32
Oct 1143 37
Nov 1115 37
Dec 2018 1142 37
Jan 2019 1285 41
Feb 1240 44
Mar 1203 39
Apr 1247 42
May 1232 40
Jun 2019 890 30
*26 available beds in Hundred Nights Facility.
Jan, Feb, Mar overflow adds 12 beds, 20 beds available May–Oct.
Total unique individuals served: 645
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
In preparation for the cold weather season on November 11, 2019, the staff will set up orientation sessions for individuals or groups interested in volunteering this coming winter season. We need many people to help with the intake process from 6:30 to about 10 pm daily. Intake volunteers greet people coming in to the shelter, work with guests to fill in forms, help distribute snacks, pajamas and personal care items.
Orientation sessions are scheduled for:
Tuesday, October 29 or Tuesday, November 5, 2019 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm or
Saturday, November 2 or Saturday, November 9, 2019 from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm or call to schedule another time
We are also looking for volunteers to help in the resource center. This could be helping to keep the job and housing boards up to date, getting food ready to serve and talking or playing cards and board games with people.
Other volunteer opportunities include helping with laundry and cleaning, meal making and helping with mailings.
Are you one of these people? Call for more info!
WISH LIST
Thank you to everyone who so generously donates items that are needed here at Hundred Nights!!
We all appreciate everything that you bring here. This is what is most needed at this time:
• Deodorant, Shampoo & Conditioner
• Men’s & Women’s Sleepwear (all size – closed fly type)
• Men’s & Women’s sweatpants (all sizes)
• Work Boots, Winter Boots, Sneakers (all sizes)
• Assorted nuts – peanuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews – to make trail-mix with
• Snacks (Beef Jerky, Fresh Fruit, Cheese-sticks, Hard-Boiled Eggs, etc..)
• Lunch Foods (tuna, jelly, deli meats & cheeses,
canned soups)
• Coffee, Tea, Sugar & Creamer
• Milk, Butter, Hot Chocolate
• Mayo, BBQ Sauce, Salad Dressing
• Long Johns for men & women (all sizes)
• Laundry Soap (HE), Spray Air Freshener
• Backpacks
• Tall kitchen garbage bags, 13 & 30 gallon
• Paper plates, bowls, cups, toilet paper & paper towels
• Sturdy Plasticware
