Staff Spotlight
Helen Buckley Brings Help, Hope, Housing to Eddy Shelter Guests
Helen Buckley, Housing Advocate, The Connection's Eddy Shelter of Middlesex County
Helen Buckley exudes positive energy. Her computer screen saver is a tilework of affirmations such as “Never, Never, Never Give Up.” As Housing Advocate for the Eddy Shelter, she adheres to that philosophy and engenders it in the clients that come to her for help.
Funded by the Middlesex United Way, the Housing Advocate identifies appropriate housing for the clients. With the addition of this position the number of people housed has increased by about fifty percent. She tries to find housing to fit the needs of the person looking, some may need support services in addition to the rental, while others may just need help finding a home they can afford.
“I enjoy helping people. When someone gets their own place it’s a sense of accomplishment and pride,” said Helen. “To find a home for someone who’s homeless is big!”
“If it wasn’t for the United Way this position wouldn’t exist,” said Mackenzie Tyson, Program Director for the Eddy Shelter. “She’s extremely compassionate. She’s got this enormous amount of energy that she brings to her position and the shelter that is infectious. She wants everyone to succeed.”
Helen recently advocated for, and was able to change a stationary Section 8 voucher into a portable one for a woman who was in a domestic
violence relationship, and needed to relocate. Before Helen intervened the woman was at risk of losing the voucher entirely.
Helen is familiar with the shelter having worked as a per diem Client Service Aide for a year prior to taking the Housing Advocate position. After only 3 months on the job she has housed at least 25 people. She said that one of the best things about working at the shelter is the team work that exists between her, Mackenzie, Case Manager Martina Hutley and Vocational Specialist Ashley Tupper.
Her most significant challenge is finding available housing across the state. She says there isn’t enough affordable housing for people who have lost their home, or for young people ages 18 and up who have recently aged out of Department of Children and Families care, or for the elderly. She said she also sees a great need for transitional housing which she is always on the lookout for. Another challenge she deals with is the client’s willingness to transition. “They’re scared of the unknown,” she said.
Helen and the staff at the shelter are aware of the tenuous position many people are in as a result of the economy.
“Lots of people are just a paycheck away from being in the same boat as the homeless here at the shelter,” said Helen.
But despite the cycle that she sees occurring with homelessness: someone loses their job, loses their housing and begins using drugs as a coping mechanism, which often keeps them homeless, she holds out hope. “Anyone can come to this place (homelessness), but anybody can be famous,” she points out, referring to The Pursuit of Happyness, the rags to riches story of millionaire Chris Gardner.
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