Dear Friends,

          Summer is waning fast.  School supplies and Halloween paraphernalia are already being displayed in the stores.  We’ve had a very pleasant summer.  The Day Care is harvesting tomatoes, watermelon, squash, peas, beans, and lettuce from their garden project and the kids are trying out nutritious foods.  Drew, a preschooler, proudly told me “we have watermelons growing out there.”  The women in the shelter have also made great use of the coupons they receive from WIC for the Farmer’s Markets and have been eating locally grown fresh vegetables.  The Thrift Shoppe continues to grow its circle of friends and customers.  Thanks to Janet, Elaine, Dot, Linda, Laurel and other volunteers, it feels more and more like a big family.

          New Generationshelter has received at least six or seven intake calls in a week.   One woman who called from Keene, New Hampshire said we are the only such facility in the State and what she saw on the web looked good to her.  The general shelters and the domestic abuse shelters in the state cannot cater to the needs of pregnant women and mothers of young babies.  At the emergency shelters women have to leave during the day due to staffing and sheer numbers.  Abuse shelters normally have a limited stay of six weeks to three months.  A woman who just called for an intake who is staying at a safe house can only stay there until September 29 and her baby isn’t due until January 2007.

          A woman who came to New Gen in November 2005 just moved out in mid August with her year old child.  While she was a resident we helped her obtain a work permit, obtain employment, and place her child in Next Generation Daycare.  We provided transportation to and from her job.  When she obtained her driver’s license she was able to leave and get herself to work.  She accomplished so much while here, stabilized her life, received parenting education on site from Joan Ouellette our parenting educator and at Families First.  She is ready to move on and be a contributing member of our community. 

          I truly believe New Generation provides a service to these young women and their children, to the local community, to the State of New Hampshire, and to society in general that is of inestimable value.

       We want our friends to be aware of some of these stories.  We hope you will continue to support us in any way that you can.

          Enjoy the site and enjoy the Fall.

                                                                                      Warmly,

                                                                        Toni