Her Last Winter in a Tent: Ending Chronic Homelessness

Last winter Maria was living in a tent, struggling with chronic homelessness while trying to manage her recovery from substance misuse. Hope was hard to come by. Reuniting with her daughter, Isabella, is what pushed her forward. 

That’s when Karen, a Harbor Care outreach team member, connected with Maria. After building trust over a few visits, they worked out a plan. Soon, Maria had a housing voucher, ready to access safe, stable housing, with a commitment to sobriety and reuniting with Isabella. 

Then COVID-19 disrupted everything. Getting access to an apartment was tough amidst a state shutdown. But, with Karen’s persistent help, they found a way. In May, Maria moved into her own place. 

“I have an absolutely amazing case worker that pulled things together at a time when it seemed impossible. She went above and beyond to get me out of that tent and cold and into a warm home. The one thing that kept me hanging on was my precious daughter and the thought of never cooking her a meal or tucking her in at night again.”     

Every day, individuals like Maria walk through our doors in crisis. Its community support that helps create stability and opportunity. Together, we offer hope. 

Harbor Care has  created  a  successful  model – integrating  stable housing  with vital supports:  primary, oral, and mental health care, substance misuse treatment, employment services, and other  wraparound  supports, that create  a foundation for lasting change in people’s  lives. It starts with the dignity of  a home. 

Thanks to your support of individuals like Maria, there are fewer than 30 individuals and families in Nashua who are chronically homeless.

Our goal is to end chronic homelessness by year’s end, but we need your help!

This approach has ended homelessness in greater Nashua for both veterans and people living with HIV/AIDS. Together, we can now end chronic homelessness.  

Thanks to your support of individuals like Maria, there are fewer than 30 individuals and families in Nashua who are chronically homeless. Our goal is to end chronic homelessness by year’s end. But we need your help! 

To accomplish this, we have launched Dignity of Home, an initiative to help ensure our most vulnerable neighbors have a safe place to live and the services they need. 

A group of concerned citizens – the Ending Homelessness Committee – who have long been committed to this effort, have offered to match the next $5,000 in donations to this initiative.  

Please join them with your generous gift to help individuals like Maria find hope, achieve stability, and transform their lives. We are grateful for gifts of any amount.