Pittsfield's Affordable Housing Trust Housing Listening Session

08:09AM / Thursday, June 15, 2023Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City of Pittsfield's Affordable Housing Trust is holding a community meeting to hear from residents about current housing needs.

The Affordable Housing Trust is a seven-member board that was formed to provide for the creation and preservation of affordable housing within the City of Pittsfield for the benefit of low to moderate income households and for the funding of community housing.

Information gathered from this listening session will be used to guide the work of the Affordable Housing Trust as they look to address the housing needs of Pittsfield residents.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. at Conte Community School at 200 West Union Street in Pittsfield.

Those attending will be given the opportunity to speak about the housing issues that are important to them and their community.

Childcare and light refreshments will be available. Spanish translation services will also be provided.

RSVP to (413) 499-9368 or (413) 442-3181 so a headcount can be calculated for food and childcare.

If residents are unable to attend the session, they are welcome to submit their comments to the Pittsfield Department of Community Development, City Hall, 70 Allen Street, Room 205, Pittsfield, MA at (413) 499-9358 or by TTY at (413) 499-9340. Residents may also e-mail your public comments at jdodds@cityofpittsfield.org.

Persons with special needs should contact the Pittsfield Department of Community Development and every effort will be made to accommodate their requests.

Tags: housing,

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Pittsfield Resident Given OK to Distribute Doughnuts

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
02:48PM / Monday, February 02, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council has clarified that a charitable resident can continue distributing cider and doughnuts to people, as long as parking regulations are followed.

"So it is my understanding now, throughout this meeting, that there is no longer any threat of fine for feeding the homeless," Ward 7 Councilor Moody said to Robert Ball, who has distributed sweets and hot beverages around the city for months.

A couple of weeks ago, Ball told News10 that he ran into issues with the city about his charitable food distributions. Moody saw the story and filed a request that the city stand down on penalties against good Samaritans feeding unhoused community members until code violations can be clarified and the city solicitor can weigh in on the possibility of violating people's First Amendment rights.

During public comment, he reported receiving fines, tickets, citations, and increased pressure that made the distribution difficult.

"For many months, I've been volunteering my own time and money to provide hot apple cider and donuts to people experiencing homelessness here in Pittsfield. I'm not part of an organization. I don't receive grants. I've never asked the city for a single dollar. I'm one person trying to help out people who are cold and hungry and often invisible," Ball said.

"Sometimes all I'm offering is something warm and a moment of dignity, and that makes a difference."

Moody's petition was filed after city officials disputed claims of fines or threats of enforcement. Ball believes that the rest of Pittsfield should show more compassion and that there would be more community outreach if it were easier to assist people.

"When volunteers are treated as partners instead of problems, the entire community benefits. Public health improves, tensions decrease, and people in crisis are met with dignity instead of displacement," he said.

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