Tom Ketteridge, the Haven's managing director, described the organization's goal of helping families and educating their children. The Haven provides shelter to eight families at a time, and also runs programs like a food and clothing bank for the poor.
"If the children are going to escape the cycle of wondering what to they're going eat on a day-to-day basis, where to sleep, they need an education and a job that pays a living wage," Ketteridge said. "We are focused on getting them academic skills and dreaming about what their potential is."
Belinda and Corey Daniels, two panelists, described their long history with the Haven -- their family had received food and clothing through donation programs there but was apprehensive about turning to the organization for shelter when they lost their home in a fire a few years ago, Belinda Daniels said.
It was only after the family ran out of money that they began their stay at the Haven, which lasted five and a half months, she said. The family worked to become independent as quickly as possible while making the Haven a home for their three children -- hosting a sweet-16 party for their daughter at the shelter and cooking breakfast for all of the children living there.
"We did not have jobs at the time, and we had to look for jobs and a home and a car," Belinda Daniels said. "After we found jobs, I used to ride a bike to work, and Corey used to walk."
Panelist Krista Johnson, a divorced mother of four, described her experience raising her children in a trailer without child support. She was forced to apply for shelter at the Haven when she found herself unable to pay her heating bill, which she said left her home colder than the air outside.
"It was the hardest thing I had to do just making that call because you never want to see yourself in that situation," Johnson said. "But the first week I was there, I just plugged away at applications for more permanent housing."
Johnson added that the staff at the Haven supported her as she commuted over an hour each day to her job and helped her to open a savings account and obtain a credit report.
Like Johnson, panelist Alicia Maddox supported four children by herself. She said she was pregnant with her youngest son, now two, when she moved into the Haven.
"I couldn't find a job because I was very round at that point so no one wanted to hire me, and it just made my stay feel extra long, and I felt extra pregnant," she said.
Maddox later left the shelter but was forced to return after losing her two jobs at the Hanover Inn and Wal-Mart. It was during her second stay, she said, that she decided to complete her high school education, having dropped out of school when she left her family at 17. She said she hopes to attend Dartmouth in two years.
Maddox praised Dartmouth's volunteer program, The Haven Homework Club, which works with school-age children who have stayed at the Haven.
"My seven-year-old has informed me that she will be at Dartmouth, no questions about it," Maddox said. "I'm really grateful that she gets to experience how important education is by meeting some of the students [at Dartmouth], and being in the homework program has been able to boost her self-esteem."
Eva Langlois, the Haven's education coordinator, described how the organization's relationship with the College began after German professor Irene Kacandes volunteered to help the children staying at the Haven with their homework. The Homework Club program has now expanded to offer tutoring four days a week, she said.
Langlois also praised Dartmouth's efforts to help the Haven's high-school students through the college admissions process. Members of Alpha Xi Delta sorority have met with students and offered advice, and Caroline Kerr, Dartmouth's senior assistant director of admissions, has also held a workshop at the Haven, she said.
The panel was part of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, which features a series of events sponsored by the Tucker Foundation.
The week's events included a rice and beans dinner discussion Monday with environmental studies professor Jack Shepherd on the impact of the U.S. presidential election in the developing world. On Thursday, biology professor Lee Witters will host a talk on the effects of malnutrition on adult health. The week will also include an ongoing food drive for the Haven and will conclude on Saturday with a Habitat for Humanity construction project.
