NASHUA – Kathy Paquette and her “magic trunk” are a welcome sight among the homeless community, especially during the winter.
She totes socks, hats, gloves and hand warmers while carting sleeping bags, tents and other forms of shelter materials for those who can’t afford housing in Greater Nashua.
“People come up to me and say, ‘Kathy, what’s in your trunk?’ ” said Paquette, a homeless outreach advocate with Southern New Hampshire Services. “I open my trunk in the winter months, and it’s got all kinds of stuff to keep people warm. In the summer, I carry liquids and bug spray.”
But with the season’s first snowfall and steep temperature drop come dire circumstances for homeless men, women and children – as well as the local agencies that serve them.
“We try to accommodate as many people as we can, and we also are open during the day because a lot of times there aren’t places where people can go,” said Eileen Brady, a social worker and advocate with the Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter.“It tends to be different in the winter, because sometimes we would turn somebody away. But when it’s absolutely bone-chilling out, the shelter staff makes a different assessment.![]()
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