{"id":10866,"date":"2024-02-19T17:48:06","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T17:48:06","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"Rebecca-Carlman-blankets-to-help-homeless-53970816\/","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/?p=10866","title":{"rendered":"Hometown Hero:\u00a0Carlman helps the homeless where she can\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Rebecca
Rebecca Carlman hands out a shirt and a blanket to Brian Demerett of Concord off of Storrs Street in Concord on Feb. 8.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Rebecca
Rebecca Carlman holds a blanket as she and her partner Ronny Verville hand out items off of Storrs Street in Concord on Feb. 8.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>

Rebecca Carlman knows a new blanket can go a long way when you are living out of a tent. She did so herself for three years \u2013 with cold winters and wet mornings after a night of rain leaving a lingering chill. So now she loads what supplies she can into the trunk of her car and passes it out to people experiencing homelessness statewide.<\/p>\n

In the parking lot by the old Rumford Press off Storrs Street, Carlman hopes to catch folks in Concord as they head to dinner at the Friendly Kitchen. And on this afternoon, she, and her partner Ronny Verville have disaster blankets, deodorant, trash bags and pillows to share.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do clothes, toiletries, everything,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were here last week with socks, hats, blankets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of Carlman\u2019s stock comes from donations. She\u2019s traded candy for comforters with Connie Fellows, who makes Easter baskets for families in Pittsfield, and collected a number of other drop-offs from neighbors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were homeless and we know how much it sucks. Now that we\u2019re stable we give back, pay it forward,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Verville and Carlman bought a house together six years ago this month. Now, paying it forward means a few things \u2013 first, it\u2019s the donations and drop-offs. But they are also an encyclopedia of resources, sharing information day to day in person and posting in a Facebook group, Homeless in Concord.<\/p>\n

When Carlman first created the page, she had three members. Now 770 people converse daily in an online community dedicated to sharing resources to help people experiencing homelessness or simply just talk about what it is like to be without stable housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s good and bad at the same time. It\u2019s great that there are these organizations and there\u2019s a lot of people,\u201d said Verville. \u201cAnd we can give them resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

And they also collaborate with other organizations like Boxes of Love for the Homeless, that distribute supplies as well statewide.<\/p>\n

In December, Christ the King Parish hosted a Christmas event on a Saturday afternoon. A mobile barbershop was set up, with a food pantry, clothing closet and camping gear also available.<\/p>\n

It was the third party that Carlman and Verville helped with in Concord, with 250 people in attendance.<\/p>\n

When Verville and Carlman were living outdoors, they referred to their encampment as their \u201chomestead.\u201d Together, they spent a lot of time in tents, keeping the area clean and they had a slew of names for the nearby animals.<\/p>\n

Indoor reprieve came from a night at the emergency winter shelter and a stint at the McKenna House, as well.<\/p>\n

From the back of their Nissan, Carlman rattles off her offerings that day, stored in large brown boxes in the trunk. She\u2019ll also offer big black trash bags in hopes that people will keep their belongings dry and encampments clean.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you get housed, is this how you\u2019re going to treat your living room?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s troubling, now, to watch the need among people experiencing homelessness grow, and to watch people get younger and younger, said Carlman.<\/p>\n

But then on the other end of the spectrum, she knows a woman who is 70 years old and living unhoused. Some nights after she distributes her supplies, Carlman will join her for dinner at the Friendly Kitchen.<\/p>\n

While the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness and other organizations have a formal by-name list of people experiencing homelessness \u2013 to track transitions in and out of homelessness and specific needs of individuals \u2013 Carlman and Verville have their personal rolodex of people as well.<\/p>\n

Personal success stories, like Spider Mike and Long-Haired Mike who have both since found housing, make Verville smile. But other favorites, like Vodka Jack, died while experiencing homelessness.<\/p>\n

In 2023, there were 94 people who passed away while unhoused in New Hampshire, as homelessness rates rose throughout the state and country.<\/p>\n

Now as people cross the train tracks heading for the Friendly Kitchen in the afternoon, Carlman and Verville wave to familiar faces and flag down new friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi honey, need some blankets?\u201d she called out to a passerby. Next, she tells them to send whomever back over to her spot. She\u2019ll be there until her stock runs out.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rebecca Carlman knows a new blanket can go a long way when you are living out of a tent. She did so herself for three years \u2013 with cold winters and wet mornings after a night of rain leaving a lingering chill. So now she loads what supplies she can…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":427,"featured_media":10867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_newspack_byline_active":true,"_newspack_byline":"by [Author id=427]Michaela Towfighi[\/Author] Monitor staff","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[534,12],"tags":[24,430,505,328],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[509],"class_list":["post-10866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homebox3-cm","category-town-city-government","tag-facebook","tag-hometown-heroes","tag-paywall","tag-two-new-hampshires","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/42959773-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/427"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10866"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10868,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10866\/revisions\/10868"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10866"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fnewspack_spnsrs_tax&post=10866"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=10866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}