about us

MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is to provide a safe, warm place of overnight shelter for our homeless neighbors in Enfield during the coldest months of the year.

WHO WE ARE - Picture of our Board of Directors and our Executive Director,  left to right: Rev Peter Bushnell, Lorraine Creedon, Susan Carllo, Murry and Priscilla Brayson, Monica Wright, Deacon Paul Roberts, Sue Banning, Paul Tedder, and Rosalind Swift

The Enfield Safe Harbor Warming Center exists as a part of Enfield People for People, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation, formed to create shelter for our homeless, heatless neighbors in Enfield during frigid New England winters. We do this at the kindness of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Enfield, who allow us to invite homeless neighbors in for shelter from 9:00pm to 7:00 am, January through March. 

We are governed by a Board of Directors, comprised of volunteer men and women from many life disciplines, who bring their considerable expertise to plan, advise, manage and direct our work in Enfield.

We have paid staff, including our Executive Director, Monica Wright, and five paid overnight staff, who train and assist community members who are willing to volunteer overnight.

Our Board and our Executive Director currently operate all office, media, and documentation from their homes, because we do not, as yet, have a permanent structure. 

Our Board is also responsible for media communications, fundraising, community engagement, collecting donations of supplies and food, and speaking to churches, service organizations, and other entities to share our work and ask for participation.

IMPACT 

Each year ESHWC has increased the number of guests we have been able to shelter in our overnight facility at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Enfield. We have also increased the number of days we open from later in January through March to early January through the first week of April.

We seek to become more visible in our community in order to engage individuals and businesses in our area to participate in the battle to end homelessness. Our partners have made donations, given us grants, donated supplies, food, and volunteer staff, and this has allowed us to continue to grow our work to match our mission.

VALUES

We believe every person deserves a safe shelter and access to warmth and overnight resting, and we believe it is important for every community to provide that shelter. We are a non-denominational, and faith-based organization, and not attached to any particular faith organization. We simply believe that caring for those in need is a basic human act of kindness and love, and we seek to make a difference in our community. We are calling on our local government, business community, and citizens to become aware and engaged in this basic human kindness.

OUR STORY

We have just finished our fifth winter as Enfield Safe Harbor Warming Center, providing immediate, overnight shelter, for homeless and heatless individuals and families. At present, our non-profit, parent corporation is People for People, and its active subsidiary, doing the work for the homeless, is the Enfield Safe Harbor Warming Center.

By winter, 2019, the ESHWC opened 74 nights, growing from our first year of 5 guests to serving an average of 16 guests each night, during this past winter. We also had 30 overnight volunteers and five overnight paid staff. 

During the past five years, we have successfully run the center with the financial support of churches, businesses, individuals, and organizations, but each year we are challenged to insure that our funding can provide the basic needs of the people we serve. The hard work and generous spirit of our volunteers has made this possible.