image description

Berkshire 'Point In Time' Count on Homelessness Likely to Increase

The count that gauges local homelessness was taken on Jan. 31 this year and the number is expected to increase over last year based on city and nationwide trends.

image description

New ServiceNet Shelter 'The Pearl' Opens in Pittsfield

The Pearl aims to provide a sense of community for folks experiencing homelessness while connecting them with services to aid their situation.

image description

Pittsfield Homeless Committee Details Accomplishments, Goals

To connect housing-insecure community members with services, the panel launched housing resource fairs and plans to continue them on a quarterly basis.

image description

Pittsfield's 'Pearl Street Shelter' Opening Soon

She added that pearls are created in an oyster with an irritant, explaining that she is affectionately calling herself the irritant that will hopefully create the pearls.

image description

Pittsfield Homelessness Panel Commits to Frequent Outreach

The Homelessness Advisory Committee is planning regular community outreach after holding a successful housing resource fair.

image description

Pittsfield's Homeless Campers Met with Compassionate Enforcement

Homeless campers are still prevalent in Pittsfield parks and the city continues to respond with compassionate enforcement.

image description

Letter: MCLA Homeless Shelter Should Have Had Public Input

I question MCLA's President Birge's commitment to education and to our North Berkshire community.

image description

Letter: Disappointment in Local Leadership to secure Shelter Solutions

Not one person who works professionally in housing services stood against this project. You have completely ignored the insight and guidance of our professional helping community.

image description

Birge Halts Family Shelter Proposal at MCLA

A proposal to shelter homeless families on the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is off the table.

image description

State Expected to Pick Up Some Education Costs for Family Shelter

Superintendent Barbara Malkas told the School Committee on Tuesday that everything related to the shelter "is very much speculation."

image description

North Adams Council Hears Concerns Over Family Shelter Proposal

Neighbors of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts say they are concerned about a lack of transparency and the unknown impacts that 50 to 75 families will have on the community's resources and the college.

image description

Letter: Many Unanswered Questions Related to Family Homeless Shelter

We need to call for some critical community conversations with MCLA prior to the action(s) they propose to fill a vacant building.

image description

Letter: Homeless Families at MCLA a Misguided Effort

One thing is certain, purposefully concentrating more poor people in already poor places appears to be the rule.

image description

Barrett Calls for MCLA Trustees to Make Decision on Housing Proposal

But Trustee John Barrett III, a neighbor of the campus, said placing the homeless in the Berkshire Towers would be "catastrophic" for the school and castigated the board for not asking more questions about its role in the decision.

image description

Count Shows Increasing Homelessness in Pittsfield

There were at least 221 homeless people on Jan. 25: 180 in shelters, 31 unsheltered, and 10 who were couch surfing or in other temporary shelters.

image description

Letter: Disappointing Responses to MCLA Homeless Proposal

The stereotypes of homelessness have been alive and well among our local leaders and among the public. The conjured images of filthy drug addicts pushing shopping carts and begging for money have been splattered across social media and whispered over back fences.

image description

Letter: Homeless Housing in MCLA Dorm is NOT the Solution

Initially, I was not against the idea of MCLA's president, Jamie Birge, announcing plans to open a currently empty dorm building for housing homeless families, however, the more I've talked with neighbors and friends, the more I believe it's a horrible idea.

image description

Letter: CHP Supports MCLA Homeless Shelter

CHP Berkshires wishes to express its support for repurposing a dormitory at MCLA into a residence for homeless families.

image description

MCLA Considering Temporary Homeless Housing on Campus

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is considering turning the vacant Berkshire Towers dorm into a temporary homeless shelter.

image description

Pittsfield Homeless Committee Considers Clients' Pets

On Wednesday, the panel decided to create a subcommittee to brainstorm solutions for unhoused residents with furry friends.

image description

Homeless Committee Hears Data on Unsheltered Pittsfield Students

Deputy Superintendent Marissa Mendoza informed the Homelessness Advisory Committee about the unsheltered school-aged population last week.

image description

Fenn Street Homeless Shelter Expected to Open in Spring

After several years of anticipation, the First United Methodist Church's homeless shelter is set to open in the spring.

image description

Pittsfield Homelessness Committee Has Hopes for Community Health Worker

Gabrielle DiMassimo has been in the role for about three months and works within the Health Department. The committee hopes it can be a resource to DiMassimo and a support network.

image description

Pittsfield Officials, Service Providers Discuss Homelessness in PCTV Forum

The city has been operating a temporary emergency shelter at the former St. Joseph's High School since the beginning of the pandemic. The capacity is currently set at 50, whereas the city's shelter formerly operated at a 20 percent capacity that doubled in the winter.

image description

Homeless Pittsfield Residents Ask City Council for Respect, Solutions

Three County Continuum of Care, which is the entity through which federal funding comes to the city for homeless services, determined that about 18 individuals are unsheltered and 92 individuals who are homeless but sheltered in a transitional housing program or in the shelter itself.