[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1587150535861{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”]
The following stories were written by FBMS volunteer and former Boston Globe Sports Editor Joe Sullivan.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]
Heading Home
Itâs pretty obvious what a big Red Sox fan Maureen is. The earrings featuring the iconic âhanging Soxââ dangling from her ears are an easy give-away.
Her love of the Red Sox can be traced to her childhood, âbeing in a house with a father who had two TVs â one with the Bruins, one with the Sox â and listening to the BC football game on the radio, reading the sports page,ââ said Maureen.
She is such a dedicated fan that she actually thought this yearâs team was going to make the playoffs, even when it became obvious in September that wasnât going to happen.
This disappointing season didnât damper her disposition. Staff, support workers and volunteers at Father Billâs always noticed what an upbeat person she was.
Thatâs despite the difficult circumstances that brought her there.
âI was renting a place. I was on disability, I had two part-time jobs, one taking care of child and one taking care of an elderly man,ââ she said. âThe elderly man passed away, the child was getting older and didnât really want a babysitter. So, I lost both those jobs and couldnât find anything quick enough to pay the rent, which was over what I got in disability.â
At one point, she couldnât afford the car anymore and lived outside near Scituate Harbor. âOn my beach chair between two pine trees next to the fishermanâs pier,ââ she said.
As the weather turned cold, she needed shelter and thatâs when she started staying at Father Billâs Place in Quincy. It was very difficult for Maureen to adjust to a shelter setting, which included sleeping in a bunk bed and sharing space with dozens of other women.
She adjusted and started to volunteer to work around the shelter. âI took it on myself to start cleaning, work in the kitchen,ââ she said. She aggressively looked for housing and was approved for a state voucher.
It wasnât easy, but it paid off. A friend from the beach at Scituate connected her to a possible residence in her hometown of Scituate. But she didnât have the $5,400 needed to cover first and last monthâs rent plus the security deposit.
Thatâs when FBMS stepped in to help cover the costs.
âItâs amazing,â she said. âI always wanted a little white house with a white picket fence and to be right on the beach, and here I am.”
At the same time, sheâs now working in the kitchen at Father Billâs. âI like it here,ââ she said. âI have people who I still want to see. Itâs OK. I have fun ⊠and I love to cook.
âOne Sunday, I was in here cooking. Someone said, âArenât you pissed that youâre in there all day?â I said, âIf I was at my own place, this is exactly what Iâd be doing, standing in the kitchen, cooking, watching the Red Sox game. So, yeah, itâs OK with me.ââ
There is no TV in her apartment in Scituate yet but there will be when spring arrives. Just in time for Red Sox opening day.
A Career of Caring
To Luâckett Stone-Riley, what she does for a living comes naturally. You could say her career as a triage worker at Father Billâs Place in Quincy is her destiny.
âHaving gone to many different homes myself with different families in different states, in different schools. I think itâs why Iâm doing work in this field, that maybe thatâs what spurs me on,ââ she said. âI want to help people find that home.ââ
Luâckett, a self-described analytical person, takes time to consider what sheâs going to say and then speaks in a soft voice but one that obviously has great confidence in what sheâs trying to accomplish.
In her early 20s, Luâckett was briefly homeless, but was undeterred. She was attending Northeastern University full-time, studying psychology and working at a DMH shelter in Boston while staying at a shelter herself.
This was during the deinstitutionalization period in America. For those of you who do not know of that period, the state of Massachusetts had decided that many long term hospitalized patients would be released. Many went to homes but did not have enough services to show them how to maintain themselves in their units, so they ended up on the streets and shelters.
Luâckett was able to find her way out of homelessness and she holds a fervent belief that others can, too.
âI think thatâs part of why Iâm in this field, because I know they can, in fact, find a place to live if they keep their focus,ââ she said. âI always tell my people, keep that focus. There are distractions in here, but keep your focus, you can do it.ââ
Father Billâs Place is an emergency shelter in Quincy with a focus on finding permanent housing. Luâckett works with the guests to reach that goal. Sheâs had a lot of success.
âI started out (working) in housing, then moved to the shelter because I love the challenge, the adventure that may come through the door and the unexpected reward with the guest,ââ she said. âThere were about 32 ‘long-stayers’ and part of my job was to get to know them, develop a relationship with them to get them ready to move on. They had been here so long that this was home. Of that number, one died of an overdose, two disappeared, and the rest were housed, the last in December 2019.
âI remember telling people who had been here for years, âItâs time for you to go.â And (Iâd) say it with a smile. Thatâs how I approach it. I used humor,” she said.
Her strategy is straightforward. âMeeting the client, figure out where theyâre coming from,ââ she said. âStart getting documentation together because everywhere they go, theyâre going to need documentation to show they are who they say they are. Make sure they have a source of income and start planning toward a housing situation.ââ
Itâs not easily done, however, and there can be many frustrating situations. Luâckett deals with it by getting away by herself and camping. âI do a lot of going out in the woods and thinking,ââ she said.
Refreshed, she can return to her job at Father Billâs.
âIt feels like this is what I was supposed to be doing,ââ she said. âIâve been in higher levels of human and social services jobs; but I always come back to this. I enjoy doing it, I do my best in this environment and I feel a sense of accomplishment.ââ[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column][/vc_column][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]