Move out day - residents' belonging packed and ready to go.

It's always cause for celebration when we wave goodbye to a departing resident who is transitioning from homelessness to permanent housing.

Today is particularly special because not one...but FIVE...residents have packed up and are in the process of moving out today!  

All single adult residents, the three men and two women, just happen to all be moving into their apartments today. Some have secured a private apartment in Portsmouth, and others will be living in Rochester.

With the tremendous support of their case managers and staff, the residents have all worked hard and taken the necessary steps to return to permanent housing. Three have secured full time jobs and the other two are permanently disabled.  

It takes time to rebuild your life after becoming homeless. Their success in overcoming homelessness came from having a safe secure place to sleep, countless supportive services, dedicated staff assistance, nutritious meals cooked and served by volunteers, and donor's financial support of the shelter that makes it all possible.  

We wish them all the best of luck as they start this new chapter in their lives!

Emergency shelter room in our old building.

Emergency shelter room in our new building opened in 2009.

The shelter was fortunate to have two articles recently published in the Portsmouth Herald highlighting the milestones that have been reached over the past thirty years.  

During this time we estimate that over 500,000 nights of shelter have been provided to over 5,000 different people and over 500 families.  

The full article can be seen here click here. 

The news article was followed by a nice editorial piece that recognized our commitment to caring for many of our community's most vulnerable citizens.  

Please take a moment to read these articles if you missed them in the paper!

Volunteer Orientation  - September 12 

Mike and Amy from the Keller Williams Coastal Realty team are preparing dinner  in the Cross Roads House kitchen.

Have you ever considered volunteering at Cross Roads House?

Seven nights a week, our volunteers prepare and serve dinner to our residents. Join our team of volunteers as a cook, server, or prep assistant.  We can arrange a schedule that fits your needs. 

Find out more by attending our next Volunteer Orientation on Wednesday,
September 12, from 5:30 - 6:30 pm at our shelter.   The orientation will include a shelter tour, an overview of kitchen operations, volunteer expectations, and a chance to see volunteers in action!

If you have any questions about volunteering or about our orientation program, please contact JoAnn Rohde who schedules all volunteers: j.rohde@crossroadshouse.org or 436-2218 x 107.

Just before the start of the academic year at UNH, nine highly motivated freshmen came to Cross Roads House to do a full day of community service as part of the PrOVES pre-orientation program. Accompanied by three upperclassman student leaders, the team did a tremendous amount of work in and around the shelter. They cooked a meal, sorted items in our food pantry, weeded (a lot!), organized our utility room, and cleaned out and reorganized two office spaces! We certainly appreciated their hard work and wish them all a great school year.

PrOVES is unique opportunity for service-oriented students to learn more about the local community. A UNH pre-orientation program, incoming first year participants arrive on the Sunday before opening weekend and spend the week getting to know one another while volunteering at various sites throughout the community. Led by a staff of former PrOVES participants, " PrOVERs " spend the week serving with local agencies, learning about the Greater Seacoast area while providing valuable service.