By: Carina Pappalardo
As Valley Patriot readers know, The Psychological Center in Lawrence has undergone some major changes this past year. Fortunately, Daybreak Shelter and our other programs, Pegasus House, Women’s View, and Safe Haven are weathering the storm that passed.
As you can imagine, it takes a lot to run a shelter the size of Daybreak, in a small space, with extremely limited resources. The actual structure is four modular trailers fitted together to make the space. The trailers have been there for over 16 years, although their life expectancy was only five years. They are worn and torn, but we maintain them with loving care as best we can.
Daybreak Shelter serves dinner and breakfast every day. Most months we are serving at least 1,000 meals. In the extreme cold and brutal weather we never turn anyone away. We make sure all of our Guests feel welcome and are offered a warm shower and a hot meal. This puts a big strain on the appliances we use to cook and wash sheets and towels every single day. You and I might take the ability to shower or eat when we want for granted, but for our Guests at Daybreak Shelter, they don’t always have the luxury.
I wanted to share with you an event that we will be hosting for Daybreak Shelter. It is the first one and we hope to make it very fun and successful. On Saturday, December 5th we are having a Breakfast with Santa from 8am – 12pm at St. Lucy Parish on Merrimack Street in Methuen. There will be an opportunity for pictures with Santa and chances to win raffle items. I hope to see you there!
Do you know anyone who would be interested in making a donation or donating a raffle item? All donations are tax deductible. They may send it to my attention at The Psychological Center, 11 Union Street, Lawrence, MA 01840, or may drop it off.
“Committed to improving the quality of people’s lives every day” Please consider The Psychological Center your charity of choice and make a donation today.