It was 8 pm on a weekday night when the family - a father, mother and four small children showed up at the doors of Capernaum Place [transitional housing]. The monthly house meeting had just ended and the two social workers were about to leave for home when they were told by residents that some people were knocking on the outside door. 

The staff  hurried outside to find two adults standing on the sidewalk near their van and in the back seat sat their young children. The father explained to the social workers that they had just driven cross country hoping to relocate to Lowell where the mother grew up. Along the way, they had staying at motels, but soon ran out of money for food and lodging. With the van was almost out of gas, they stopped for directions and were directed to the Lazarus House emergency shelter. They quickly drove to the site hoping to stay the night because the Lowell Department of Transitional Assistance office was closed until morning. Hazel Navarro, Capernaum Place social worker explained to them that they had been given the wrong address and were actually at the transitional housing facility. The father kept apologizing for the situation saying, "I just need shelter for the night. Times are hard. Please, just help my wife and kids."

Navarro called the emergency shelter, but was told they were at capacity. While she continued to talking with the family trying to think of another alternative, Almarie Perez, Emergency Shelter Coordinator, was hard at work talking to the guests at the emergency shelter. It was decided that one of the residents would move to another room and it would provide enough space for the new family. Perez offered, "We had a bedroom available but it would not fit a family of this size. When we expressed our problem to a mother in one of the larger bedrooms she more than willingly moved to the smaller room with her children."

Carmen Paulino, the other social worker at Capernaum Place, then brought the family to the emergency shelter. She cooked them a pizza dinner and assisted the evening staff accommodate this very grateful family before leaving for home. Navarro commented, "I was touched by the spirit, not only of the staff, but also the shelter guests who worked together to receive this family in their home.When the family arrived at our door we didn't know anything about them. We didn't know who they were or how they became homeless. But last night, it didn't matter. They were a father, a mother and four children knocking at our door asking for help and we opened it."