Pittsfield Homeless Committee Chairman Defends Efforts

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
02:25AM / Friday, October 30, 2020Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — While a new panel is being prepared to take over, the outgoing Homelessness Prevention Committee says it felt under attack by demands made on it from the City Council.

The committee's Chairman Ed Carmel spoke at Tuesday's council meeting in defense of the work the committee had done even though information was being withheld from it. The administration said no information had been withheld.

The council approved an amended ordinance earlier in the month creating a Homeless Advisory Committee that better clarifies the group's purpose, reporting requirements and advocacy for funding sources. Administrative support may be provided by the Office of Community Development.

Carmel's comments on Tuesday were in response to the four petitions referred to the committee from the Sept. 8 City Council meeting to provide reports on its productivity. The council unanimously sent the petitions signed by Ward 6 Councilor Dina Guiel Lampiasi and Councilor at Large Earl Persip demanding answers from the committee, which has met infrequently since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March.

Carmel said the committee has been trying desperately to find higher ground to support the homeless and that it has been dumbfounded by some of the critiques because of the lack of information it is given.

"This is a committee that has to be run like a brand-new engine, it has to get worked and worked and worked and then at some point it will be like it's supposed to be," he said. "Until other entities share their information with us, we are dead in the water."

Persip asked Carmel why the committee can't make recommendations to City Council, as petitions can be put in to the council at any time.

"We don't know what key information you're missing and why you can't make recommendations," Persip said. "These petitions were put in in the first place to get this information, we were wondering why we haven't heard from this committee, why it wasn't meeting, and what it has done."

Persip stated that the council has asked for answers and still doesn't have any.

"This is not an attack," he said. "I don't want it to be an attack or sound like an attack. ...

"Going forward we have a new ordinance and I think it's the best thing to put this to bed for now and start fresh and hopefully get some positive information out of the new committee and recommendations."

Earlier this month, the homeless committee held a meeting where members answered what they considered redundant questions from council. Councilors, however, felt their questions weren't sufficiently answered.

The petitions requested a detailed list of programs for which the committee has advocated and members have engaged with these programs outside their own entities; a report on how it has monitored the homeless since being formed last year; the number of meetings held; and a report of the committee leaders and neighborhood service providers that it has collaborated with and if any viable solutions have been drafted by the committee.

The committee had reported it works with Berkshire Regional Housing Authority, ServiceNet, the Elizabeth Freeman Center, Louison House, and the Christian Center among many other local organizations.

Members of the committee also reported on the projects they have going on.

The housing authority, Brien Center, Soldier On, and ServiceNet have been holding an an outreach meeting at the Christian Center two times a week to provide meals, materials, and services to homeless individuals as well as checking in on those who cannot be reached electronically

Katelynn Miner, a pastor at Berkshire Dream Center, reported that the center goes to Springside Park on a weekly basis to meet with the homeless. It is also holding church services every Sunday in the Morningside Community School parking lot.

The discussion to revive the Homelessness Prevention Committee started in March 2018 between former Councilor at Large Melissa Mazzeo, Ward 1 City Councilor Helen Moon and Carmel, who looked to re-establish the committee from 1989. Carmel was homeless at one point in his life, and Moon saw Pittsfield's homelessness problem firsthand when she worked on North Street. In September 2018, Mazzeo filed a petition to reactivate the dormant 1989 committee.

Carmel told the council that he has been very distressed since this committee was formed because it "thrives off information" from entities that work with the homeless and potentially homeless and he feels that the committee is not receiving that information.

He said the thought the new ordinance was exactly the same as the previous one, and in this present moment, the committee had not received vital information from Mayor Linda Tyer's office or ServiceNet that it needs to make recommendations.

"There seems to be a disconnecting in others wanting to share what they have," Carmel said. "Sometimes the commission is left out of doing the job we are intended to do."

People question the committee's effectiveness even though committee members work with many entities that are right on the front lines of homelessness such as schools, mental health facilities, the Police Department, the Christian Center, the Elizabeth Freeman Center, and Soldier On, he said.

Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Maffuccio asked Tyer about the new committee, saying he thought she had been attacked and had the right to be heard.

Tyer said the council has received letters of interest from people to join the new committee and that some seats are specific to organizations. She said they will be doing outreach to those organizations to find representatives to join.

She also said no information had been withheld from the Homelessness Prevention Committee, pointing out an employee of the Community Development Office with experience in homelessness was a member of the committee. Community Development Director Deanna Ruffer said reports and other information also had been given to the committee.

Guiel Lampiasi concluded that It is important for the city to have a strong team working on the solution to homelessness and that the team is held accountable. She added that her statement is not meant as an insult to the work that has been done so far.

"I want to go back to the idea that information wasn't withheld and based on the membership of those on the committee, they have had access to that information. I think it's important that we all be honest about that," she said. "But the most important thing is that there is a new order and the committee is being shaken up a bit and I look forward to seeing how things move forward."

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PCTV Celebrates 40th Anniversary with Community

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
06:00PM / Tuesday, September 22, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Many fans, workers, past workers, and city officials gathered at the Berkshire Hills Country Club Friday night to celebrate Pittsfield Community Television turning 40.

The room was alive with people eating, laughing, taking photos in a photo booth and watching snippets from PCTV's past archived programs throughout the decades curated by Operations Manager Dave Cachet.

President of the Board of Directors Sue Doucette acknowledged everyone in attendance and thanked the volunteers who help or have helped bring PCTV to the screen.

She reflected on how much technology has changed since 1986 and on PCTV's role in covering parades, debates and election-night precinct results

"You heard it and saw it yourself, and you can interpret it your way. Not everybody has this, but we in Berkshire County do, and we need to be forever grateful to the people that have come before us and made this possible. So, for me personally, I love the staff at PCTV and the board members. I never begrudge going to a meeting. I like these people," she said.

Executive Director Shawn Serre said he feels as though this is their "Eras Tour," referencing Taylor Swift's record-breaking concert series. He reminisced about PCTV's eras.

"The first of our eras is the founders' era, that time when this was just an idea tossed around among colleagues with various skills and with an interest in creating a local source of television, but with no funding, no equipment, no facility, no staff, no volunteers other than themselves," he said.

He said the next era starts with PCTV's move to Fourth Street. At this point, they named their first executive director Garrett McCarey and built their first facility at 163 Fourth Street. They made community connections, programs, and learned the ropes, he said, adding that they "pushed the boundaries of what public access could accomplish".

He said the next era is their Federico era, led by former Executive Director Bernard Avalle and changing technology.

"Under his leadership, we moved our entire facility from the old building to a custom-built studio and offices. We expanded from one cable channel to three. We went from analog to digital to high definition," Cachet said. " We went from videotapes to DVDs to video servers and files. We had as many as seven staff members and grew the program. We designed and purchased a mobile production truck. We covered so many meetings, so many meetings. Viewers would look to us with trust on election nights, onn the Fourth of July, at sports events, and at special events. We have become a part of the fabric of life in Pittsfield."

And finally, the multi-platform era.

"Otherwise known as everything, everywhere, all at once. That's what it feels like. It's when we expanded our reach by saving WTBR FM from the wrecking ball and operating it. When we greatly expanded our PCTV sports program of live broadcasts from just about anywhere, we couldn't have imagined being able to do that early on," he said. "It's when, in the depths of the pandemic, we not only continued our regular broadcast and never stopped, but we also launched PCTV Select to provide high-quality video streams, live streams, and video on demand worldwide. When we started Park Square Productions to provide high-quality production services to clients and contribute to our mission."

He said their next era is still being shaped and will need the community to help.

"The next era, well, that one has to be shaped by you, by all of us actually, because after 40 years, we realize the only constant is change, and we know that while cable TV is at the moment still our sugar daddy, it won't be around forever," Cachet said. "But we know how important the kinds of services that we provide are, and the demand to not disappear."

Rep. Tricia Farley Bouvier said local journalism is important and will save democracy. She presented PCTV a citation from the state House of Representatives signed by her and the Speaker of the House.

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