While many of us are enjoying time off for the holidays, a group of volunteers is gifting their time by helping others. Nonprofit “Journey Home” tells us why they do it year after year.
While many of us are enjoying our time off, a group of volunteers is gifting their time by helping others.
We spoke with the nonprofit “Journey Home" about why they do it year after year.
John O’Neil is one of the many volunteers who donates his time to help furnish apartments for people who, until recently, had nowhere to live.
“It is immediate gratification seeing these people, O’Neil said. "Their lives change.”
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Sara Wilson is the deputy director of Journey Home. She said she came up with the idea about 10 years ago.
“I live in West Hartford. And it’s a community of a lot of abundance," Wilson said. "And I saw things just being thrown away on the street. And I work with this population.”
A decade later, and volunteers spend their holidays doing manual labor.
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“We pick up furniture all over the community," Wilson said. "We store it in our warehouse, and then we have volunteers deliver it to people who are moving from homelessness to housing. And we do it year-round.”
The “Hands Up" program started off with just a few people. Now, they are a full team of people dedicated to helping those who are in a new place, often for the first time.
Michelle Leeper is the "Hands Up" coordinator at Journey Home.
“Lots of times they have nothing in there. You know, they can't even take a shower because they don't have a shower curtain, or they can't cook because they don't have a pot," Leeper said.
Leeper said it is a full circle of people helping people.
“People from around the Hartford area can donate items to us, and then our volunteers will go and pick them up," Leeper said. "And then, conversely, they'll go and deliver them to folks who need them.”
We spoke with Tramel Dunning, a supportive housing specialist with Community Health Resources. He told us what it is like for someone who was homeless to finally have a place to call home.
“It means a lot to give them somewhere comfortable to sleep. A roof over their heads," Dunning said. "It’s pretty amazing, honestly.”
Wilson said they have served about 400 people so far this year.
If you would like to donate either furniture, your time or both, click here to get to Journey Home's website.
Audrey, a volunteer from Simsbury, told us why she continues to volunteer her time.
“Something like this, you get to see the difference you’re making in people’s lives, and it is so cool," she said.
