Art and Lisa looked like any other happy couple when the Insider caught up with them last week. Lisa's engagement ring glinted on her finger as they told the story of how they first met. Art ordered some half-sour pickles from the convenience store where Lisa was working, caught a glimpse of her, and the rest was history.
“I couldn't say anything,” said Art. “She took my breath away.”
But just like the pickles that brought them together, their relationship has been bittersweet. Art and Lisa-who spoke with us under the condition that we withheld their last names-had been homeless for weeks when we talked with them, carrying around all their possessions in suitcases and backpacks. Art had recently been released from jail, and the terms of his parole did not allow him to move to Vermont, where Lisa had taken a job while he served his sentence. So she came to him, and they took to the streets of Concord, trudging through the snow just trying to stay alive and stay together.
“This is our first time ever being homeless,” Art said. “At first we were lost.”
“It was a real eye-opener,” Lisa said.
They searched desperately for place to stay, even attempting to pawn Lisa's engagement ring to raise some money.
“They only wanted to give us $25 for it,” Art said. “I said, 'Do you know how much I paid for that?' ” Fortunately, they found the Concord Cold Weather Shelter. The shelter, located at the First Congregational Church on North Main Street, provides warmth and a place to stay at night for Concord's homeless throughout the cold winter months.
“The goal of our shelter is to keep people from dying out in the cold,” said Pastor David Keller, who founded the shelter. “Don't we deserve this kind of thing as human beings?”
'They don't look down on you'
The shelter was opened in January 2004 as a cold-weather triggered location. It would be opened whenever the temperature hit zero or lower. The turnout, however, was higher than expected, and once a family with school-age children moved in, Keller knew the shelter needed to be open all winter long.
Now, the shelter opens on Dec. 10 and closes around the first day of spring. The Cold Weather Shelter is an open shelter, which means it serves people that would not normally qualify to stay in other shelters. Many shelters have policies where if someone signs in one night and doesn't show up the next day, they lose their spot. Those shelters also have stricter behavioral rules that may alienate those struggling with addiction.
“We're not here to fix people; we're here to shelter people,” Keller said.
First Congregational has partnered with South Congregational Church, and between the two, they host about 40 people every night. Couples usually get shuttled off to South Congregational; everyone else, like 38-year-old Carmelito, beds down at First Church.
“It's kinda sad being homeless at 38, isn't it?” Carmelito said. “I never thought it could happen to me.” Carmelito, who is on disability for severe depression, was living with his girlfriend in Concord. When they broke up, he suddenly found himself homeless.
“I was ashamed, I was very ashamed,” Carmelito said. “I didn't want anyone to know I was homeless.”
Carmelito was unwilling to ask his family for help, so he gathered up his things and tried to find a place to pitch his tent.
“I lived in the woods in the summer,” he said. “When it got to be winter, I stayed out there because I didn't know this place existed.” Eventually, the cold drove him into the city and he discovered the shelter. There, he was able to get food, warmth, and a place to sleep. He was moved by the way the volunteers treated him.
“They welcome you with open arms. They don't look down on you,” Carmelito said. “That's the best part.”
Helping hands
The Cold Weather Shelter couldn't function without the help of its volunteers, led by co-director Terry Blake, who has been volunteering at the shelter about three years. This is her first year in a leadership role.
“We could always use more volunteers,” Blake said, “especially overnight volunteers.”
She said that it's difficult to find people who can stay overnight because of their work schedules. Still, she urges anyone that can lend a hand to get in touch and find a way to help out.
“When people come in to volunteer that haven't been here before, they're amazed how much fun it was,” Blake said.
One of those volunteers is Jennifer Kimball of Concord, who started volunteering at the shelter two years ago.
“The main thing I've noticed about volunteering here is that we're all equal,” Kimball said. “Out in the street, these people might get looked down upon, but here they're equals. It's easy to see someone on the street and assume they are a certain way, but in here we get to know them.”
Many of the people who stay at the shelter echoed that sentiment.
“I just wish people wouldn't look at homeless people like they're non-entities. We're human beings,” Lisa said.
Twenty-eight-year-old Woody, formerly of Pembroke, feels the same way.
“Some of these dudes, they don't take showers, they just don't care,” Woody said. “I'm still friends with them. I see when they walk down the street, I see how people look at them. It's not right. I've met some pretty real people in here. Outside, there are a lot of fakes.”
Woody has been homeless for five years. He lived outside for the first three years, but has been staying at the shelter for the last two. He says that he enjoys the freedom that homeless affords him.
It's important, he said, to be optimistic, but admitted that can be tough.
“There are those lonely days sometimes,” Woody said. “Well, a lot.”
Those days have been more frequent since Woody's friend, William Beaulac, died in September. Woody found his body in a tent, he said. Events like Beaulac's death are a stark reminder of how necessary it is for places like the Cold Weather Shelter to exist. Even with the resources that are already in place, Keller has had his share of heartbreak to deal with.
“I've buried eight homeless people,” Keller said.
While the shelter hasn't been able to save everyone who has come through the doors, Keller stressed that it's done a lot for many people. He credited the hard work of the volunteers and the giving spirit of the Concord community.
“This is an amazing town. Once people get together and start talking, they get things done,” he said.
Thanks to support from the shelter, Art and Lisa recently found an apartment. While they were happy to be moving into a real home, they're more excited for their wedding, which will happen in a few weeks, the couple said.
Carmelito is getting housed next week, too. A grin crept across his face as he relayed the good news on the phone to his young son.
“He can't wait to come visit Daddy in his new apartment,” Carmelito said.
How to help
The shelter needs volunteers to fill shifts through the end of the winter. But volunteers aren’t all that’s needed. Here’s what you can contribute:
– Socks and gloves
– Boots and shoes
– Blankets and sheets
– Hand warmers
– Monetary donations
– Pizza and snacks
– Toiletries
– Laundry detergent
To learn more about helping, e-mail concordshelter@gmail.com.
