Faces Of Nantucket: Channing & Silvia Lefebvre

It was one of the coldest winters in recent memory on Nantucket, but throughout those frigid months, the island's homeless population had shelter, food, clothing, and community.

The Warming Center, a collaboration among Nantucket's churches and a dedicated group of volunteers, provided those services every night over the past six months to more than 50 people experiencing homelessness on the island. Among the core group of volunteers who kept The Warming Place going this winter were Channing and Silvia Lefebvre.

"We believe in practicing our faith seven days a week, not just on Sundays," said Channing, an Army veteran who has worked at Nantucket Memorial Airport for years. "The Warming Place is one way that we can help give back."

Silvia, an accountant from Peru, is bilingual and often assists the Spanish-speaking individuals who seek refuge at The Warming Place.

"The more you give, the more you receive," she said. "I have always had a spirit of service in the soul."

The couple met by chance on Nantucket in 2022 and were quickly engaged and then married last year on the island. Their Catholic faith and desire to help those in need led them to The Warming Place.

"We call them unhoused, right? Unhoused because it's not that they don't have a home. Their home is Nantucket. They just don't have a structure, exactly, a structure to live inside with heat and running water," Channing said of the nearly 50 people who utilized The Warming Place over the winter. "There are three kinds of homeless people on Nantucket. The first group, which is the most well-off in terms of their situation, are people who are couch surfing with friends and relatives. It means that their friends and relatives are letting them stay in their places to help them out. The second group of homeless people are people who are living in their cars, trucks, and vans. And the third group of homeless people are the ones who are having the largest challenges, and these are the people who are living out in the woods. They're living in tents, they're living in sheds. They're living in whatever makeshift campsites they can put together."

While The Warming Place registered more than 50 people into its program over the winter - ranging in ages from 17 to 80, both male and female - the organization estimates Nantucket's homeless population is closer to 100 people.

Its 12 beds were nearly always occupied at the Summer Street Church and the First Congregational Church, which loan their facilities to The Warming Place. Each night, volunteers like Channing and Silvia serve a hot meal courtesy of B-ACK Yard BBQ, The Brotherhood Of Thieves, or St. Paul's Church, along with weekly shower services in collaboration with Fairwinds Counseling Center.

"Most of our homeless guests are actually working," Channing said. "They're not unemployed. Most of these people have full-time jobs, or those who don't have full-time jobs are working two or three part-time jobs. These are people who are regularly working. They're bringing in money. They're just not making enough to afford rent."