Partnership between Charitable Foundation, NH Children's Trust and family resource centers — made possible by generous donors — gets immediate help to families in need, bridging the gap to greater stability and hope.
For a single mom in the North Country, it was a round-trip bus ticket to renew her nursing license and keep her job.
For a teen in the Monadnock Region, it was a bicycle that means he can attend youth programs that help him to thrive.
For anxious families all over New Hampshire, it’s been immediate help to keep the heat or lights on.
New Hampshire’s 19 family resource centers have helped hundreds of families through the Trestle Fund, established last year at the Charitable Foundation with the support of many donors.
The fund is unrestricted, so it can be used to help families facing challenges not typically covered by public assistance or programs, or that need attention before applications for those programs could be processed.
For Pamela S. in Laconia, it was help paying for auto repairs after a cold winter on foot.
“You don’t realize how much a vehicle is helpful until you don’t have one,” said Pamela. “I was walking my niece to high school and my fiancé was walking my nephew to middle school through the whole winter.”
The aid can be offered promptly, sometimes immediately. Many public assistance program applications take weeks to process.
“The Trestle Fund is often the only piece that offers the family immediate relief and immediate breathing room that relieves stress and opens possibilities for a longer-term solution,” said Becky Berk, impact director at New Hampshire Children’s Trust, a statewide organization which administers the funds for family resource centers.
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