I want to give on Giving Tuesday, but money is tight, and I cannot participate. However, Giving Tuesday is about generosity. Giving promotes change, be it through participating in a protest, volunteering, giving money or through advocacy. So, if you are in a tight spot financially, there are other ways to give.

For example, in 1989, after Jim Lenane highlighted homelessness in the Transcript, the Rev. Gary Hauze proposed a committee to address it. By January 1991, a group of community members established the first Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter (MATS). By November 1991, 21 people, age 18 months to 78 years old, had lived in the apartment MATS had rented. The committee gave by raising money, volunteering in the shelter and creating MATS.

Scott McGovern, one of the founding members, said, “Money is a factor in determining the amount of space the organization can offer. Even with more money, a bigger shelter isn't what people need.” In a dormitory-type shelter, the experience is institutional. In the apartment MATS provides, people got a sense of home.

Bob, who lived there in that first year, said, “Your pride and self-esteem is gone [when you are homeless].” Having been homeless for most of his life, he said, "Being in a room with 20, and once 500 guys, bums me out because you know most of them won't get any better.”

MATS rarely serves chronically homeless people like Bob. MATS is a transitional shelter for people who are capable of independent living. MATS provides people a clean, safe place to live while working with their guests to transition to permanent housing. This includes finding employment, housing, transportation, child care, benefits, education and connections to agencies and community resources. MATS gives people the life skills and resources they need to avoid becoming homeless again.

One MATS participant described MATS as a place “for mothers and children, too. They can work with a case manager weekly, set goals, apply for housing and save for debts to overcome barriers. MATS even had people donate vehicles to families to help them, and so much more! How do people go about doing such a thing?”

The answer is that it takes one person to find other people who care enough about humanity to act, which is what the founders did in 1991. Since then, when the founders volunteered their time to coach people back into stable lives, MATS has a full-time case manager and a part-time assistant helping their guests. They have 11 members on the board who manage three buildings, advocate for the homeless, educate the community, manage finances, interview people who apply for help and fundraise.

So far, in 2024, MATS has assisted seven families and three single women – 27 guests in total – and transitioned six of them into permanent housing. In 32 years of service, MATS has helped almost 500 adults and children find not just a home, but also the tools they need to build a brighter future. Our goal is to ensure that when they leave MATS, they do so with the confidence and resources to avoid homelessness again.

I don’t give money to organizations because I don’t have enough to give. But everyone has something to give. So I give by serving on the MATS board, writing this article and keeping the awareness of homelessness alive in the minds of our community.

Please join us for a candlelit vigil on Dec. 21, the longest night of the year. We will stand to honor those who have passed away while experiencing homelessness. We will gather at 5 p.m.. Steele’s Stationers in Peterborough has a donation box that these items can be left in, or please contact admin@matsnh.org to arrange pickup. Needed items include adult hair conditioner, children's hair care items, children's body wash, women’s deodorant and toothpaste.

Thank you for your support!

Elizabeth Goodhue serves on the board of the Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter, which provides transitional housing, support and referral services to people who are experiencing homelessness, to educate the community on issues of homelessness and to advocate for solutions.