Melcher & Prescott latest business to invest in Belknap House, to provide ongoing help to families experiencing homelessness

LACONIA — It’s the third major gift to Belknap House since August, and for the 5-year-old supportive housing program and shelter for families experiencing homelessness, it will be a game changer.

Melcher & Prescott, one of the Lakes Region’s oldest and longest-running businesses, last week donated $25,000 to underwrite programming, operations and organization development at the Court Street nonprofit that helps parents and children transition to permanent housing with education, tailored social services and coaching while they have a stable place to live.  The gift includes financial support going forward starting in 2023, said Chief Executive Officer Mike Sherman, who made the recommendation after he and company leadership toured Belknap House in October.

“I was impressed with the work they’re doing — giving a hand up as opposed to a handout to get [families experiencing homelessness] back on their feet,” Sherman said Tuesday. “We’re always looking for local causes where we can be of value. This seemed like a cause we wanted the company to be behind.”

Belknap House is not a permanent landing place for families, Sherman said. It’s a stepping stone for those who have “reached a low point in terms of their opportunities. When I looked at young kids not having a place to stay, this is giving them and their parents a path to get out of that situation. In a small way, we’re trying to help with that effort.”

Belknap House Executive Director Paula Ferenc said she was overwhelmed by last week’s donation — the third gift of $25,000 since an article about Belknap House ran in The Laconia Daily Sun on Aug. 5. Sherman said he responded to an appeal to local business leaders from Dan Dagesse, owner of NuCar in Tilton, asking them to tour Belknap House and consider making a matching pledge.

Dagesse donated $25,000 to the family shelter in September in response to a challenge from Chris Brown, owner of Jersey Mike’s Subs in Tilton, who read about Belknap House — its mission and successes after five years — and donated $25,000 in August, setting off a domino effect of giving that has paid for shelter repairs and improvements that are now in progress, and will help expand programming and services for homeless families.

“It’s wonderful. With this one we’re going to think deeper about what we need to do to strengthen our organization,” including marketing and website development, Ferenc said. “It validates our work. It’s an investment in homeless families. We’re offering a hands-up, and I think [Sherman] realized the families are working hard” to better their lives and situations — and their children’s prospects.

The bounty of gifts that have come to Belknap House as surprises “touch my heart in a way I can’t explain. This is heartfelt work. I’ve gotten choked up,” Ferenc said. Melcher & Prescott’s “focus and desire to invest helps to develop and empower us so we can do the same for homeless families."

Since Belknap House opened five years ago, first as a temporary, cold weather emergency shelter, it has sheltered 86 families, 1,628 people, and provided 11,065 bed-nights for unhoused children, according to statistics from August. Since 2020, when it transitioned to operating year-round, 45 families have found their bearings there, including 75 children. It’s a place that functions as home when home is lost — linking parents and children to services that help reset their lives, including parenting education, employment opportunities and coaching on how to be a successful tenant.

The universal trials of COVID-19 hit people with meager incomes hardest. The stories of families who have lost almost everything have increased awareness of homelessness — a problem throughout New Hampshire worsened by rising rents and housing scarcity.

Donors “are really touched that this is supporting children and caring for them at such a critical time in their lives,” Ferenc said. “These are people who have struggled but are capable of moving forward.”

“I have a belief that adults through their own personal initiative should work,” Sherman said. “But if you have young children, don’t have a job or resources and have to care for these kids, that’s a game you can’t win. I’m a believer in a hand up instead of a handout. There are very few people that don’t need help at some point in their lives. This is a severe need. When you don’t have a home, a place that’s safe, that’s serious.”

“I didn’t know we had such generous people in the community,” said Kayla McEachern, a house assistant at Belknap House who writes thank-you notes to donors. “It makes you feel good to be part” of a life-changing mission.

“You can drive by [Belknap House] but not be aware of what’s taking place here,” Sherman said. He said Melcher & Prescott will put ongoing support in the insurance company’s budget “to provide fuel so they can run” their operation. “If people take the time to visit and see the work that’s being done, they’ll be touched and want to help.”