Two years ago, when her relationship fell apart and she needed a place to stay, Carrie Beetcher was referred to the Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter, or MATS.
At the time, she thought she might be there a few weeks while she worked things out. It didn’t hit her right away that this was going to be a reality for her next few months, said Beetcher, of Peterborough. And when that realization hit, she felt she was at her lowest point.
“It was very humbling when that moment struck,” said Beetcher. “It was a very hard six months.”
If not for MATS, Beetcher faced the prospect of being homeless for half a year, but she said she cannot look back on that time with negative feelings. That, she said, is because of the people.
Not only did Beetcher receive support in temporary housing, she said, but there were times when others went above and beyond – securing Christmas presents for her young son, offering clothes and furniture that had been donated to MATS, and connecting her with a lawyer to help her pro bono when her son’s father challenged her custody and she was afraid that her living situation would hurt her case.
“All along your journey, you’re given even the things that aren’t necessary for life, but they can make this very stressful time in your life less awful,” said Beetcher.
This year marks a quarter of a century that the Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter, or MATS, has been serving the region with providing shelter for those that need it on a short or long-term basis.
On Nov. 11, the organization will be celebrating the service of its board members from over the years and community donors with an anniversary dinner and fundraiser at the Shattuck golf club in Jaffrey.
The shelter opened – looking quite different and in a different location – in 1991, after a local task force formed to look into the issue of transitional housing for the area. Before that, when individuals were in need of shelter, they usually were taken in by the area churches, said MATS board president Ernie Belletete.
But there was a growing need, said Belletete, and MATS was officially formed to fill the gap. Currently, MATS has a confidential location in the Monadnock region that includes four apartments and can house up to 17 people at a time.
“For some people, you’re only one paycheck away from being homeless,” said MATS Case Manager Susan Howard. “One illness. One car break down.”
That vulnerability is something that MATS sees a lot of, said Howard. Over the course of their quarter of a century of service, they have housed over 600 people. In 2015 alone, it served 10 families, which included 11 adults and 16 children and fielded 171 phone calls requesting housing assistance.
It’s not only the number of people seeking help, said Howard, but the length of time that it takes to get them back on their feet that is increasing. In 1999, the average stay of a MATS guest was ten days. Now, said Howard, it’s more often that it’s six months, nine months, or a year.
Part of that, she said, is that there are few housing options in the area available for those that have a low income, and those subsidized units that are available have a long waiting list – 18 to 24 months for the two subsidized housing units in Peterborough, a year for one in Keene. And often, those are the only real options available to those that are staying at MATS.
Beetcher said she was at first reluctant to consider moving into a subsidized apartment – for several reasons, including the potential stigma and the anticipation of a long wait time – but while working with Howard, she came to see the potential benefits, and finally submitted her application.
Due to her circumstances, Beetcher’s application was fast-tracked, and she was able to secure housing in Peterborough within six weeks of her application, after spending several months at MATS accumulating her savings, picking up additional hours at her part-time job and accessing other resources through MATS and Howard.
“I found out how much I’d be paying, and thought, ‘I’m really going to be OK,’” said Beetcher, of the moment when the she got the news that her housing application had been approved. “I can afford to get my son clothes, I can afford to take care of my car.”
Now, more than a year in her new home, Beetcher said she feels very far away from that period in her life, but not from the connections that she made there.
“I know I can still call Susan [Howard] any time I want,” said Beetcher. “She’s still there and willing to help. It’s not like as soon as you walk out that door, it’s closed to you forever. It just shows that no matter how low you get, you just have to look. The help is there.”
The MATS 25 year anniversary celebration will be held on Nov. 11 at 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Shattuck on 53 Dublin Road in Jaffrey. Tickets are $50 per person. The event includes dinner, live music and a silent auction. For more information, email info@MATSNH.org or call 924-5033, or check MATS website at www.matsnh.org.
If you are in need of emergency shelter, contact the N.H. Homeless Hotline by calling 211 or 1-866-444-4211. You may also go to the website www.211.org.