MANCHESTER, NH –The homeless services organization 1269 Cafe in Manchester will be hosting a so-called Super Soul Party during the Super Bowl on Sunday evening, an alcohol-free event with food, entertainment and supplies for those in need.
“We’re really super excited about it. I think it’s going to be a good time,” said 1269 Cafe Site Manager Brynn McCurry.
Caterers and volunteers will be setting up around 5 p.m. and the event is open to the public at 6 p.m. It will be located at the organization’s building at 456 Union St. in the downstairs room where lunch service is usually held, according to McCurry.
This is the first year New Hampshire has hosted a Super Soul Party, an event which has gained popularity since it was started in New York by filmmaker and social media influencer Meir Kay in 2017.
The idea was to give unhoused people and others in the public who might otherwise be alone a place to gather and celebrate together.
“It’s not about football. This is about seeing the overlooked and engaging with the ignored,” Kay said in a press release. “These are not mere Super Bowl parties that you are familiar with. This is about lifting the soul with camaraderie and dignity.”
This year, Super Soul Parties are taking place concurrently in 35 cities in the United States, according to national program director Yehudis Milchtein.
Over 2,000 people are expected to attend Super Soul Parties nationwide. Organizers have ordered over 5,000 chicken wings and are working with over 400 local volunteers, according to Milchtein.
Milchtein said the organization didn’t hold parties last year due to the pandemic, but held parties in 20 cities in 2020, up from two cities in 2019. This year, there was a push to get parties going in more locations.
“Our goal for 2022 was to be in every state,” Milchtein said.
McCurry said the Super Soul Party organization reached out to Hope for NH Recovery initially but Hope referred them to 1269 because they didn’t have the space for it.
There will be a few flat-screen televisions playing the football game, with room to seat a full capacity of 54.
Aside from the free food, homeless attendees will be able to pick up some donated items, “dignity bags” which contain hygiene items and snacks, and a barber from Master Cutz Barbershop in Manchester will be on hand to provide free haircuts.
There may even be some kid-friendly entertainment such as face painting and a magician, but organizers haven’t nailed down those details yet.
“I’m hoping if we do it again next year, we’ll have more people in the community who want to get involved,” McCurry said.
One of the organizers for the event, Michelle Koehler of Londonderry, said she usually volunteers for the Night to Shine prom for special needs kids, but since that event was canceled this year, she was looking for other opportunities to help out and found the Super Soul Party online.
Koehler said helping people who are homeless or who are struggling with addiction “hits close to home” for her. She is six years sober and has a family member with substance use disorder.
“Not everybody’s a lost cause and if one person can show another person what Jesus is all about, then that’s the main purpose of all of it. Because we’re all broken in our own ways,” Koehler said. “It’s not just for addicted people. It’s for everybody. Everybody’s hurting.”
Koehler is a volunteer for outreach services with her church, Orchard Christian Fellowship in Londonderry, which provides donated items and services to the homeless through its Makeover Ministry program.
She said the church will also be launching a new program on March 10 called Regeneration, which will provide faith-based grief and addiction recovery counseling with a licensed drug and alcohol addiction counselor. That program will run from 8 months to a year for individuals who want to participate.
