Jack Conway,GRI, CRB
Jack Conway & Company, Norwell, Mass.
MainSpring Coalition for the Homeless

Good Neighbor Finalist Reaches Out to Homeless

Jack Conway works hard at finding shelter for people who need it. Not just for buyers and sellers in his town of Norwell, Mass., but for people who otherwise would be living in the streets.

Through his involvement with MainSpring Coalition for the Homeless — an organization that his wife, Patti, and a friend of hers formed in 1981 — Conway uses his real estate savvy to find buildings that can be turned into homeless shelters. Then his personality kicks in, as he generates momentum in the community to make the project happen.

“I make my living out of selling houses to people with bank accounts," says Conway, broker-owner of Jack Conway and Co. "But [the homeless people we help] are just as important to the community.”

Providing a Good Night's Rest

Conway found MainSpring’s very first shelter location, an abandoned city building. “I worked with local banks to secure financing, and found support from people who were willing to get down and scrub floors to make it habitable,” says Conway, who is 83.

That first home housed 10 people. Today, the MainSpring Coalition for the Homeless has grown to five homes and sleeps up to 100 people a night, including entire families.

Conway’s fundraising abilities are at the core of the organization’s growth. For the past 22 summers, his company has sponsored a golf tournament that has brought in more than $400,000 and plenty of publicity. The company has also holds an annual dinner and auction, which has raised an additional $600,000.

The funds made it possible for MainSpring to open a new shelter this year and expand its tenancy preservation program, which offers resources to people who are at risk of becoming homeless.

“This past summer we needed to open an emergency shelter,” says Gerald Ryan, interim executive director of MainSpring. “We had no funding from the state, so we had to do this out of the funds from the Conway contributions.”

'What This Really Means'

At the recent dedication ceremony of a new homeless shelter, the importance of MainSpring’s mission really hit home. “Everyone was there, from the Mayor to the local news crews,” says Conway. “The Mayor had just gotten done speaking when he asked if anyone out there would like to say anything.”

To everyone’s surprise, a homeless man raised his hand.

“This guy was bent over with arthritis and hadn’t shaved in months," Conway recalls. "He said, ‘I used to sleep under that bridge. In the winter, I’d find cars that were left open so I could sleep in them. Now, I’ve got a home.’”

That moment “was what having this shelter is all about. All of these big shots were making speeches but it was this homeless man who showed us what this really means.”

Conway is one of 10 finalists for the Good Neighbor Awards, a grant program recognizing REALTORS® who make exceptional volunteer contributions to their communities. Of the 10 Good Neighbor finalists, five winners will receive $10,000 grants for their community projects and will be honored at the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in New Orleans. The remaining five finalists will receive $2,500 grants for their cause.

Contact Conway at Jack Conway and Company, 137 Washington St., Norwell, MA 02061; 781/871-0080; www.jackconway.com or MainSpring Coalition for the Homeless, 54 North Main St., Brockton, MA 02301; 508/587-5441; www.mainspring.org.

The Good Neighbor Awards is supported by founding sponsor eNeighborhoods Inc., and cosponsors Fannie Mae and LandAmerica.

— By Tracey C. Velt for REALTOR® Magazine Online

Good Neighbor Awards Home Page