Rebecca Carlman
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While the challenges continue, so do the good works done by our neighbors, our teachers, our health care providers, our volunteers and so many others. This is their story. Ledyard National Bank is proud to support the 2023 Hometown Heroes, who were nominated by members of the community and selected by editors of the Concord Monitor. Nominate your Hometown Hero Today. |
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| | Hometown Hero: Carlman helps the homeless where she can
By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI Monitor staff
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 – 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. |
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| 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.
“We do clothes, toiletries, everything,” she said. “We were here last week with socks, hats, blankets.”
Most of Carlman’s stock comes from donations. She’s 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.
“We were homeless and we know how much it sucks. Now that we’re stable we give back, pay it forward,” she said.
Verville and Carlman bought a house together six years ago this month. Now, paying it forward means a few things – first, it’s 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.
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.
“That’s good and bad at the same time. It’s great that there are these organizations and there’s a lot of people,” said Verville. “And we can give them resources.”
And they also collaborate with other organizations like Boxes of Love for the Homeless, that distribute supplies as well statewide.
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.
It was the third party that Carlman and Verville helped with in Concord, with 250 people in attendance.
When Verville and Carlman were living outdoors, they referred to their encampment as their “homestead.” Together, they spent a lot of time in tents, keeping the area clean and they had a slew of names for the nearby animals.
Indoor reprieve came from a night at the emergency winter shelter and a stint at the McKenna House, as well.
From the back of their Nissan, Carlman rattles off her offerings that day, stored in large brown boxes in the trunk. She’ll also offer big black trash bags in hopes that people will keep their belongings dry and encampments clean.
“If you get housed, is this how you’re going to treat your living room?” she said.
It’s troubling, now, to watch the need among people experiencing homelessness grow, and to watch people get younger and younger, said Carlman.
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.
While the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness and other organizations have a formal by-name list of people experiencing homelessness – to track transitions in and out of homelessness and specific needs of individuals – Carlman and Verville have their personal rolodex of people as well.
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.
In 2023, there were 94 people who passed away while unhoused in New Hampshire, as homelessness rates rose throughout the state and country.
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.
“Hi honey, need some blankets?” she called out to a passerby. Next, she tells them to send whomever back over to her spot. She’ll be there until her stock runs out.
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