Former College President James Wright stressed the importance of community and the benefits of serving others in his speech at the dedication ceremony held Thursday for Hixon House, a new shelter for homeless adults at the Upper Valley Haven in White River Junction, Vt.

Wright, himself a former Marine, drew upon past experiences in his work with injured veterans and the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund to illustrate the ambitions of the disadvantaged and the ways in which the less fortunate can teach those who help them.

“We have to realize that hope, ambition and love can help a lot of people,” Wright said. “Homelessness does not mean hopelessness.”

Hixon House will serve adults without children, according to Sarah DeMont, chair of the Adult Shelter Project at the Haven. Before the creation of Hixon House, the Haven only served adults with children in its main shelter.

The shelter will “not be a place simply to sleep,” Wright said. Rather, Hixon House presents an opportunity to encourage and facilitate the ambitions and dreams of the homeless, he said.

Wright spoke of the determination shown by a wounded veteran whom he visited at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the fall of 2005.

The veteran lost an arm and suffered a crushed skull during military service, and his family members who were living in the Ninth Ward in New Orleans lost their home and belongings to Hurricane Katrina, according to Wright.

In spite of his family’s great loss, the veteran’s father told Wright, “I still have my boy here, we still have our love, and we can get by without our home,” Wright said.

This veteran’s story exhibits the strength and great perseverance of the disadvantaged, Wright said.

Wright praised the role Upper Valley community members played in the creation of the shelter. He cited the work done at the Listen Center and the Twin Pines Housing Trust as other examples of the extensive community service in the Upper Valley.

During the ceremony, Susan Wright said that Dartmouth students have played a huge role in community service.

“Don’t be fooled that theirs is an insular experience bound by the Green,” she said. “The students are truly extraordinary.”

James Wright said that there are many lessons community members can learn in helping those at the shelter.

“Those who will be served here [at the Haven] are your teachers,” Wright said.

Wright said that while working with the Semper Fi Fund, he was involved with All-Marine Warrior Games Team, a group of Marines with serious injuries that competed this spring at Colorado Springs in the Warrior Games. Chuck Sketch, a veteran who lost both eyes and legs during military service, swam a race during the competition despite his disability, according to Wright.

“He did finish his race and there was not a dry eye in the place,” Wright said. “You tell me who was the teacher in this, you tell me who the beneficiaries are when we are able to enable the Chuck Sketchs of the world.”

The creation of Hixon House was made possible by numerous individual donations and a $250,000 Kresge Challenge Grant, which totaled $2.2 million, according to Rick Cote, president of the Haven Board of Directors.

Wright said in an interview with The Dartmouth that he and Susan are “impressed” and “enthused” by the project and the fundraising efforts.

“We’ve tried to be supportive over the years,” he said in the interview. “We really believe in [the Haven].”