Local group aims to welcome displaced families to Gardner

A group of Greater Gardner residents has banded together to ensure that a number a displaced families in a local shelter receive a warm welcome from the community.

According to the Massachusetts Executive Office and Housing and Livable Communities, there are currently 36 migrant families living at an undisclosed hotel shelter site in Gardner. They are among the nearly 1,800 families residing in hotels and motels in the Commonwealth, according to state officials.

When Jonathan Dudley began hearing rumors that several displaced families would be sheltered in Gardner, he knew he had to get involved.

“I think that I was just raised with the values of being kind and welcoming to people, and that when you see that others are in need you give what you can,” Dudley explained. “Someone asked me: ‘But do you really think we owe these people anything?’ And I realized I don’t think it is about anyone being owed anything, it’s just that for me, it’s the right thing to do.”

Needs include diapers, baby formula, a place to cook

Since first meeting the families that are sheltering in Gardner, Vanessa Lynch had been organizing a community effort to make sure that the new arrivals have everything they need while they await a more permanent living situation, including diapers, baby formula, cooked meals.

“The families really need a kitchen,” said Lynch, who grew up in Gardner as the daughter of an immigrant from Barbados. “We have been reaching out to local churches to try and find space where families can cook.”

More: Gardner hotel providing shelter for migrant families - what we know

Most need winter gear

Lynch added that clothing was another necessity, and that anyone interested in donating gently used boots, jackets, and other items could visit an Amazon registry link that is updated daily.

“Most of these families have never had a winter before and really need warm clothes,” Lynch said.

Shelley Ward of Westminster said it wasn’t an option for her to not get involved with the group’s mission.

“How can someone learn about babies and children who need diapers, wipes, and formula and think to themselves, ‘Well, that’s not my problem?’” Ward said. “I bought as much as I could and met Vanessa to deliver them. When I brought over the supplies and saw the children, I turned around, drove home, and asked my daughter to pick out a few of her stuffed animals she’d like to donate.”

More: Gov. Healey activates National Guard to help at emergency shelters

After putting the stuffed toys through the wash, Ward delivered the items to the children she had just met.

Welcoming the stranger and sharing what you have

“It is the kind of lesson that I think is important to teach my daughter – you welcome the stranger and if you have more than you need, you share,” she said.

Lynch said she was excited to be part of a community that had proven itself to be kind and compassionate to the sheltered families.

“The families are really beautiful people,” she said. “People who have worked really hard to make better lives for their children, their families, and themselves – that’s something that I think we all can relate to.”

Ward said it was important that people didn’t get caught up in the politics of how the families arrived in the city.

“But these babies, children, and families should not go without the basic necessities,” she said. “People should welcome these families with an open heart and bring up their concerns about the system that brought them here with the politicians.”

Dudley noted that Gardner was a community that was built by immigrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families, and added that the evidence was everywhere you looked in the city: the (Finnish) Workers Credit Union; the Franco-American Credit Union; the Polish American Citizens Club; and the Lithuanian Social Club.

“And now there’s a Coptic church, two Puerto Rican food trucks, and a Buddhist temple,” he added. “I really, really wanted that to be the side of Gardner that these new arrivals encountered.”

“As a nurse, I have learned that I cannot heal everyone, but if I can offer a moment of hope and comfort, then I have helped, and that is how I can sleep at night,” Ward added.

Anyone interested in getting involved can email the group at 978create@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Greater Gardner Volunteers Displaced Families Hotel Shelter Site