Niccole Harris knows what it’s like to be homeless. She and her husband Josh experienced homelessness and addiction before moving from Florida to Kentucky in 2007. Now they try to help others who are coping with similar issues.
That’s why Niccole opened Maysville Hands of Hope, a center that offers services to people experiencing homelessness, addiction, financial hardship and other challenges. It provides food, clothes, toiletries, toys and other essentials.
With only six bags and a dog, they moved to Newport where they were offered a fresh start by Niccole’s father in 2007. The couple moved to Maysville in 2015, and Niccole started her center during the COVID-19 pandemic, originally as a Facebook group to help homeless people living near the river.
“I knew that I never wanted anybody to feel alone and feel that hopelessness,” she said.
Nicole also works as a street outreach coordinator at the Welcome House, a nonprofit that works to provide housing to people in need, and attends college where she is pursuing a degree in human services. The Harrises now have three children, ages 17, 16 and 7, and Josh owns his own trucking business.
“After I had my first child I never touched a drug ever in my life” Nicole, 42, said.
When she first began her work to help others, people would drop off clothing, toys and other items on the couple’s front porch. She quickly realized that she needed more space to handle the amount of donations they were receiving.
“Our porch was getting full” Niccole said. She moved her operation to a storage unit and then to its current building downtown. Her children help out at the center on weekends.
Melvin Gates, a homeless man who comes to the center every day, said Niccole has done a lot for him and “kept me outta trouble.”
Directions in Maysville are given in terms of “up the hill” and “down the hill,” according to Niccole. Most of the resources, schools and shops are located up the hill, but when given the opportunity to move to a cheaper uphill location, Niccole refused. The people in need are mostly centered down the hill without access to transportation, she said.
“I think we’re called to be down here.” Niccole said, noting that the center is near homeless shelters. “This is a lifeline for all of those people”.
Josh summed up the couple’s feelings about their life experiences.
“We’re not ashamed of where we came from.” said, Josh, 47. “Our journey could be somebody else’s story and help them.”
