STEPHENVILLE, N.L. — It was Christmas Day and Jim had nowhere to go.
The homeless man, who requested his real identity not be disclosed, was more than thankful when Karen Young, house manager of Aunt Jean’s Place, opened the door and offered him a place to stay.
The 40-year-old man stayed at the temporary shelter more than a week after Christmas Day. It was his second stay at the home for those with no place to live after a three-week stint there earlier in 2019.
“It’s a great place to go and Karen’s really great," he said gratefully. "A person feels safe there as you got everything to get by, including resources posted for the help you need to move on.”
Jim said he got lucky and later found a room of his own to rent in Stephenville.
Originally from Ontario, he moved to Newfoundland with his girlfriend and lived in the Bay of Islands area for a while, but ended up homeless with just the clothes on his back.
He heard Hotel Stephenville recently donated furnishings for all the residential rooms at Aunt Jean’s Place and thought it was a lovely idea.
“God bless him for doing that. I’m sure future clients will appreciate it,” Jim said.
Gerald Snow, the new owner of Hotel Stephenville, said he grew up in Stephenville in a poor family, so he realizes what it's like to have to do without certain things.
He is in the midst of renovating the hotel, starting with the first floor and replacing furnishings from the eight rooms at that level.
“My goal is to invest back in the community and I’m happy to help people out. It makes a lot of sense to me to help those in need,” Snow said.
Some people advised him to sell the furniture and put the money into the building, but he said he’d rather help people out.
In addition to Aunt Jean’s Place, he has donated other furniture to the local women’s shelter and some to local people nearby.
Snow, who is 49 years old, has a repair-maintenance business catering to commercial enterprises in British Columbia.
His goal is to reside with his wife in Stephenville in about a year and a half while his daughter completes her secondary education.
Snow said, eventually, he will be upgrading the building's complete interior.
Aunt Jean’s Place Inc. has been in existence for eight years. Michelle Cormier, the shelter's chairperson, said Snow’s generosity allowed them to furnish all four rooms with complete beds, bedside tables, lamps, pictures, desks, curtains and matching bed spreads.
Cormier said certain furnishings in the house were long overdue for replacement. Because the organization is non-profit, the donations were much appreciated.
Young, who has been house manager for four years, said being provided with the furnishings was a great gesture toward some folks who could really use it.
“It’s always great when the community is helping out and our clients appreciate anything that's done for them during their transition period,” she said.
