Her Last Gift Is Making A Difference In Women’s Lives

PHOTO: Sadie’s Place in Meredith was founded by an unnamed benefactor whose dying wish was to do something for women who are abused.

by Dan Seufert
Weirs Times Correspondent

Sadie’s Place, the new transitional housing apartment building in Meredith for victims and their families of domestic violence and sexual assault, was created by a Lakes Region woman who in her later life regularly donated part of her wealth to make a difference in the lives of area victims and their families, and wanted to leave one last gift.
But she had one condition on the project. As with her past giving, she wanted provide the money anonymously, because of what friends say was a selfless devotion to others that precluded her from seeking attention or recognition.
“This woman chose to help people with her resources without being named or being involved,” said James Bianco, a Concord lawyer and her personal friend. “Her only motive was to make life a little easier for women and children who had been victimized.”

Even in death, “she wanted to remain anonymous. She honestly just didn’t want people to know the contributions came from her,” Bianco said.
Having come from a wealthy family, the donor and her sister quietly were longtime philanthropists. They organized a private foundation to fund scholarships for young students in the Lakes Region about twenty years ago. The scholarships continue to go to area college entrants who are hoping to enter professions that the sisters felt benefited women and children – like nursing, psychology, and agriculture.
After losing her sister, her health began to fail and she knew she was soon going to die.
“She said, ‘the time is getting close for me, I have something I want you to do,’” said Bianco. Then, on the night before she died, with Bianco at her bedside, she said, “You need to make it happen. You have to create a housing shelter to help women and children … in need of help.”
In light of the need for anonymity, she had suggested that the new apartments be named after her pet, Sadie. A group of friends who were helping her make the project a reality as an advisory board agreed with her suggestion. In 2020, the board purchased the former office and apartment building at 15 Northview Drive, and had decided on a project that fit with her wishes and that area doctors say was, and is, badly needed.
In fact, Sadie’s Place is the first such project in Belknap County and one of a relatively few transitional homes for victims in New Hampshire, mental health professionals said.

“There’s absolutely a need in the area for affordable housing in this region, but that’s particularly true for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and their families,” said Shauna Foster of New Beginnings – Without Violence and Abuse, the Laconia crisis center that was hired to run Sadie’s Place. “These women and their families often don’t have access to financial resources or good jobs.”
While New Beginnings has a local shelter for victims from the area, it’s a temporary place to live, not a solution to their problems. Now, with Sadie’s Place, there are five fully furnished apartment units in the building, along with a sixth apartment used by a caretaker and counseling assistant from New Beginnings.
The advocates at New Beginnings come up with a plan for tenants and their families, who will stay up to two years there. During that time they will be aided with counseling aimed at their personal situations, and New Beginnings staff will help residents find jobs and receive health care and child care, as well as help them with access to local schools.
New Beginnings advocates will help plan the victim’s future. The idea is that when they leave, they will have steady employment and will have found adequate housing, Foster said.
“The property provides a dignified place for a victim and a family to heal,” Foster said.
The first apartment has been filled, Foster said, and there are plans for at least two more victims and families to move in this month.
“We’re hoping other (transitional housing) will follow, but this is a good start,” she said.

Jeanie Forrester, a member of the Meredith Board of Selectmen and former state senator who serves on the advisory board, is pleased thus far with the result.
“We received a lot of support from the community, and we intentionally and vigorously sought out feedback in bringing this forward in a way that fit with the community character,” she said. “We are so very thankful for the assistance we’ve received and proud that we can be a small part of a solution that will help women and children achieve a path to success.”
Bianco agreed, and said he too is pleased. “It was a good use for her money, and we’re proud we were able to accomplish so much for her. You don’t find people like her very often,” he said. “Unfortunately she did not live to see it. We wish she lived long enough to see it.” “The Meredith community was very welcoming. We reached out to the local community leaders and everyone was in support.”

Donations can be sent to Sadie’s Place,15 Northview Drive, Unit 1, Meredith, N.H. 03253. For more information go to www.sadiesplace.org