Melissa LeBrun has spent most of her adult life helping others. She began fostering children in her 20s, four of whom she adopted. During the Great Recession, she launched a soup kitchen with her mother in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire. She is a former medical social worker with a master’s degree in human services and addiction counseling, and is working on a master’s in social work.

For the past three years, Melissa has been a resident service coordinator for Meeting Place and The Meadows, Avesta affordable housing communities in eastern New Hampshire.

With Melissa’s help, Avesta has partnered with numerous organizations to bring services to residents at these and other Avesta properties in New Hampshire, including:

• Seacoast Mental Health Center‘s REAP (Referral Education Assistance and Prevention) program, which provides free in-home counseling to help residents apply for resources enabling them to age in place
• Healthcare insurance providers Humana and The Integrity Agency, which provide free educational programs related to Medicare and health issues
•  Gather, a nonprofit that provides free nutritious food to people in need via mobile farmers markets

In addition, Melissa introduced a chair yoga program, organized flu and COVID vaccination clinics, and is working with University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension to provide SNAP education and cooking classes.

“Melissa has transformed Avesta’s New Hampshire affordable communities into resource/service centers,” said Nick Kjeldgaard, Avesta Housing resident service manager. “Building a resources-rich property is never easy, which makes what she has been able to accomplish during a global pandemic even more impressive.”

Knowing that she helped to make a difference in someone’s life is the greatest reward for Melissa.

“The best part of my job is when a resident says, ‘Oh my gosh, Melissa, that was so helpful, I now have extra money to buy my granddaughter a toy because we were able to shop at Gather this week.’ Or somebody got a voucher or got their rent reduced over a conversation. If it makes their life a little bit easier, that makes me happy.”