The Way Station and MWV Supports Recovery, nonprofit programs that support the homeless and those with drug addictions, respectively, recently told selectmen of plans for offering new services and asking for help getting grants.
On July 26, Pastor Nathan Hall of the Lutheran Church of the Nativity in North Conway noted that the Way Station started about four years ago when the church began letting people take showers in the rectory.
From there, it expanded to providing people with groceries, gas cards and laundry cards. The Way Station also has mailboxes and helps people register their cars. It serves about 30 people per week.
“We try to pick up all the little pieces that people need help picking up when they find themselves homeless,” said Hall. “What we’re requesting of you guys (the selectmen) is that you could, on our behalf, request one of the Community Development Block Grant planning grants.”
The Way Station wants to qualify for a $25,000 grant to get an architectural design update on the old rectory to provide better services, such as more accessible showers, more washers and dryers and transitional housing upstairs.
Pastor Nathan Hall of the Lutheran Church of the Nativity on Grove Street talks to Conwayselectmen on July 26 about plans to improve the Way Station. (Photo by Daymond Steer)
The Way Station would not only give people a place to get back on their feet but also provide case management to help them “stabilize” and reach their goals such as independent living.
In response to a question from Mary Carey Seavey, Hall explained that the Way Station can’t apply for the grant directly but has to go through the town.
MWV Supports Recovery President Janice Spinney and Director Rose Normandin also seek to add transitional living to their 7,000-square-foot property at 1620 East Conway Road in Center Conway.
“People who live in transitional housing usually stay for three to 18 months, until they’re stabilized and until they are able to matriculate back into the community,” said Spinney.
On one side of the property is Endeavor House, a sober living facility for up to nine women. In the center is peer-to-peer support services, and on the other side are private apartments.
Spinney said there are eight bedrooms and a loft extension. Once the space is reconfigured, MWVSR could house about 15 people in the transitional living space.
Spinney said she would like a letter of support from selectmen for the project. “The housing crunch in this community has really created this gap of people that have no place to stay,” she said.
— DAYMOND STEER/CONWAY DAILY SUN
