This year’s first church supper at Peterborough UMC will be a classic. The missions group will be hosting a benefit chicken and biscuit supper. All proceeds will support local transitional housing charities including Shelter From the Storm and Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter.
On Saturday, March 28th, the church doors open at 5 PM and stay open until the food runs out or the cooks get tired!
Tickets can be purchased at the door – Adults (12 and older) for $9, Children $4, Immediate Family Max $25. Additional tickets can be purchased to donate dinners to local families in need. Delivery will be provided by church volunteers.
The menu includes stewed chicken and vegetables served over warm homemade biscuits, cole slaw, ice cream sundae, hot beverages, milk, and water.
Come support our church and its mission, have a warm wintertime meal, and gather for good company! It’s a win-win opportunity!
Did You Know
- The average age of a person who is homeless in the state of New Hampshire is 9
- 45% of the overall homeless population in New Hampshire consists of families with children
- Veterans comprise 7% of New Hampshire’s homeless population
- average income of the working poor continues to fall but rents continue to increase
- On any given day in New Hampshire, there are 2,438 people who are homeless
- In 2012 around 3,300 school children were identified as being homeless. This is an increase of over 1,000 between 2008 and 2012; and it does not include toddlers and pre-schoolers, those who don’t go to school because of moving frequently or those who have not been identified.
- The rate of homelessness in Hillsborough County in 1 in 488 people; in Cheshire County it is 1 out of 687
- Today, most people in America live one paycheck away from homelessness
Source: MATS
Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter (MATS)
The Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter’s mission is to provide transitional housing, support, and referral services to people who are homeless; to educate our community on issues of homelessness; and to advocate for solutions
Founded in 1991 by concerned citizens, the Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter (MATS) is a transitional shelter run by volunteers from local communities and a part-time Case Manager. MATS serves the towns of the Greater Monadnock Region, and we also accept referrals from other shelters throughout the tri-state area.
MATS is a registered, private, non-profit 501c3 organization. Our funding comes entirely from donations from area churches, businesses, service organizations, grants and private citizens. We do not receive funding from the federal or state governments, or from The River Center on Concord Street in Peterborough where our organization is a partner.
MATS is not an emergency shelter. We require that all potential guests be part of an interview with our case manager, and agree to a criminal background check before we can admit them into our program. We do not allow smoking or alcohol in the building; there are other house rules which must be adhered to or risk being asked to leave.
With the help of our Case Manager and some Board members who act as mentors to individual guests, we help people in a variety of ways: find a new or better job, get their GED, find childcare, secure state benefits and transportation — whatever is needed to get our guests back to self-sufficiency.
MATS offers a safe environment for people 21 years old and older in four (4) apartments in Peterborough, NH. Families may share an apartment with another family or, depending on the number of people, may have their own apartment. Guests generally stay in our program between 3 and 6 months. Because we pay the mortgage, heat, basic phone and electricity, we consider people our guests while they live in the shelter; they pay only for their food and cell phone. Through our part-time Case Manager, guests learn of various state agencies where they may find help according to their needs. Our Case Manager also assists each guest with budgeting and goal setting, and meets at least once/week with each guest to ascertain his/her needs and progress and to set new goals. In conjunction with the federal guideline that people spend one-third of their gross income on housing (including heat and electricity), MATS requires each guest/family to open a Savings Account into which they must put 30% of their income as a means of helping them return to a life of self-sufficiency.
For more information visit MATSNH.org
Shelter From the Storm
Shelter From The Storm (SFTS) was established in July 2005 by a group of concerned Jaffrey community members who became aware of the lack of, and need for, transitional housing in our area. Much has been accomplished since then.
In 2007 we became a 501c (3) not for profit organization and a registered charitable trust in the state of New Hampshire
We have created awareness of the existence of homelessness in our community
Currently, we have 5 fully furnished apartments in the area
As of December 2013 we have provided temporary housing and support for 37 families including 39 adults and 47 children until they could get reestablished on their own
About 50 active volunteers support our work by fundraising, publicizing, supporting specific needs of clients, and becoming community friends to our clients
We have an executive director and a Life Coach/Case Worker
One of the discoveries we’ve made is that homelessness occurs for many reasons. It does not discriminate based on gender or age, nor family status or background. Since our inception we continue to help over 50% of the homeless in our community
What SFTS has done, and will continue to do, is to give homeless families the help they need to get back on their feet, with dignity.
We provide transitional housing subsidizing rent and utilities. We also provide each client with a case worker to help them find the support programs that are available to them. Clients are required to save 30% of their income with the goal of rejoining the mainstream community within eight months. Clients agree to participate in a support services program to reach this financial self-sufficiency. This enables clients to save money so they will be able to afford rental housing of their own.
As our communities have become aware of the need, local businesses, churches, organizations and the community as a whole have been generous in support of SFTS. This critical support has allowed SFTS to establish a strong base with expectations of expanded services.
For more information visit ShelterFromtheStormNH.org
Read the article in the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript: Chicken and biscuits at Methodist Church