At an in-store presentation today, Always Home received a $5,000 donation from Big Y. Always Home is one of 37 charitable organizations benefiting from the proceeds of Big Y’s annual Paul & Gerald D’Amour Memorial Charity Golf Outing. “We are so pleased to be able to give back to the local community,” shared John Connolly, Store Director for the Stonington Big Y.Always Home Awarded Major Big Y Donation
Always Home’s Executive Director, Betty Smith, acknowledged that this gift will have a positive and enduring community impact. “A single episode of homelessness can have a profound and lasting effect on young children’s social/emotional growth. Donations, like this one from Big Y, support our efforts to prevent family homelessness before it happens.”
In Fiscal Year 2019, Always Home served 232 families seeking emergency housing assistance (717 family members including 424 children under the age of 18). By combining case management support, short-term financial assistance and creative homelessness prevention services, Always Home helped these families find immediate solutions to their housing crisis, avoid time spent in shelter and create a viable path forward.
“We are so grateful to Big Y for honoring Always Home and our mission with this major gift,” added Smith. “Many families’ lives will be changed for the better because Big Y, a family-owned business, cares about our community and the people who call it home.”
About Always Home
Always Home is a private 501(C)3) non-profit formed in 1998 to address the needs of Eastern Connecticut's homeless and imminently homeless families. Formerly known as Mystic Area Shelter & Hospitality, Inc. (MASH), the agency continues to pursue its mission of Preventing Family Homelessness. As a key player in the Eastern Coordinated Access Network (ECAN), Always Home works closely with the other service providers in the Eastern Connecticut regional network to ensure that at-risk families receive the services they need to attain housing stability.