ROCKPORT — A woman came into the Penquis office for assistance because their family home had been lost to foreclosure and she and her family were presently living on a sailboat. What began as a typical tale of a family falling on hard times quickly became amazing and more complicated. Barely able to help themselves, they had nevertheless taken another homeless family in and their 31-foot sailboat, built to accommodate four, had been housing them and another family with five people: two adults and three children. When the overcrowding on the boat became too much, the sailboat owners had taken the other family to their foreclosed home to stay even though there was no running water or electricity. Their generosity was astonishing.

I accompanied the former owner to their house and met the second family to see what could be done to help them. The house was in a shamble from sitting vacant so long, and I found three little children in need of baths and a couple of parents in desperate need of help and support.

The father had lost his job earlier in the year, and the family was dependent on the mother's earnings. Debt overwhelmed them, and by October 2012, the family was living in a hotel that was being paid for by a church. They had been on a Section 8 housing voucher list for four years, and their stay in the motel had provided the needed verification that moved them to the top of the housing voucher list. In November the mother had surgery for a tumor in her breast, and missed a lot of work due to the surgery. In December a second surgery was necessary because the first one did not remove the entire tumor. Her employer suggested she stay away from work until she'd recovered, then reapply. When she did, she was told there were no open positions. This left her feeling depressed, anxious and stressed.

Even with all this, the family continued to search for a place to live, and after months of searching, found an apartment in Bethel. Two days before they were scheduled to move, they were handed another challenge when the landlord sold the house and the new owner decided not to rent it. This forced them to live in their car for a few days. Then an aunt was able to house them for a couple of weeks. After that, they returned to their car. Another family member provided them with two weeks in a tent in their back yard, but by the end of May of this year, they were back living in the car. They would stay in a truck stop in Auburn or in a motel parking lot.

Then they met the boat family who reached out a loving hand and led the Knox County Homeless Coalition to them. Through the "shelter without walls" program the Coalition was able to house them and provide them with a variety of support and assistance. Both adults have jobs, and on July 12, 2014, they will move into their new home.

This is the model the Coalition will bring to Hospitality House. All last winter we worked successfully with many families, giving them shelter and assisting them in becoming self-sufficient. The successes of the families it has been our honor to collaborate with are the reasons we are working so hard to open Hospitality House.

The Knox County Homeless Coalition invites the community to join in this demanding and rewarding work. Like many of the families we serve, the Coalition has come a long way.

And like them, we've a bit of a ways to go still. We need volunteers. We need financial support. We're on Facebook, if you are interested in volunteering, and if you are interested in assisting financially, checks may be sent to the Knox County Homeless Coalition, P. O. Box 1696, Rockland, ME 04841-1696. Thank you."