Marraffa and Alster Honored for Homeless Initiatives

From the City of Gaithersburg: The Friends of Wells/Robertson House, Inc. hosted a ceremony to commemorate the efforts of Henry Marraffa and Stanley Alster in their support of the City’s homeless initiatives. Bricks with each of their names were placed on the Wells/Robertson House “Walk of Life.” Council Member Marraffa, who served on the Friends of Wells/Robertson House Board of Trustees, passed away in office in October of 2016. Former Council Member Alster served on the Friends of Wells/Robertson House Board from 2000 to 2015.

Present for the ceremony were Henry’s wife, Donna, surrounded by friends and family, Stan and his wife Ann Lynn, Mayor Jud Ashman, Council Members Neil Harris, Mike Sesma and Rob Wu, Friends of Wells Board of Trustees President Linda Plummer and other members of the Board, along with members of City staff from a variety of departments. To honor Henry’s memory, flowers were presented to Donna Marraffa by a current resident of the program.

Wells/Robertson House is a turn-of-the-century Victorian home that for the past 29 years has served as a transitional program for homeless men and women in recovery from chemical addiction. It is owned and operated by the City of Gaithersburg. The brick “Walk of Life” leading to the house serves as a daily affirmation of the community spirit that makes recovery a reality.

The program is aided by the fundraising and advocacy efforts of the nonprofit organization, Friends of Wells/Robertson House, Inc., which has a mission to support, independently and collaboratively, a continuum of prevention and intervention programs and services to reduce chronic addiction and homelessness in the Gaithersburg community.

For more information on Wells/Robertson House, the Walk of Life and other commemorative programs in the City of Gaithersburg, please visit here. For more information on the Friends of Wells/Robertson House, Inc., please visit here.

Photo courtesy of the City of Gaithersburg