Pittsfield Emergency Shelter Effort Trying to Take Off
 Paul Deslauriers of Co-Act, second from left, led a meeting last December to address setting up the temporary shelter. |
United Methodist Church on Fenn Street is hosting the respite that was first suggested by Berkshire Community Organizing for Action, a nonprofit grassroots group, at a meeting in December with representatives from area parishes and human service agencies. A number of homeless had been turning to the church for shelter from dipping temperatures.
The group of mostly faith-based organizations is hoping to expand that into an emergency night shelter. There are about 140 beds available in the county but an estimated 500 homeless individuals, according to the latest statistics.
The new center might be too much too soon, said Lindsay Errichetto, director for shelter housing for Berkshire Community Action Council, especially given the resources that are already in place.
"We've had no overflow problem this winter. We haven't been at full capacity at our emergency shelter placements," she said in a phone interview. "The county has been working diligently to support this population. It's a challenging time of year and we are in a recession."
Errichetto oversees Barton's Crossing as well as Our Friends House and, while she supports any additional services offered to the area's homeless population, she said utilizing and supporting services already in place continues to be the most successful method in dealing with a largely hidden homeless population.
"Homelessness is very different here in Berkshire County than it is in a big city," she said. "A lot of people are couch-surfing or doubling up in apartments or it could be that they are one paycheck away from being homeless. Also, especially in the winter, more families are willing to take people in."
Errichetto said there are approximately 350 people who pass through her doors annually, each in different stages of emergency and/or homelessness. There is a "continuum of care" in place to help these people get back on their feet and into housing.
"We have so many programs in place — financial skill building, case-management resources, job training," she said. "There are fantastic organizations for people to utilize such as BerkshireWorks, the Berkshire County Regional Housing Authority. We really mobilize well with all of these agencies. Pittsfield is hugely supportive as well – the Police Department, the housing department and the Fire Department are all astonishingly helpful. You really have to be at the end of the road to find your way to one of my shelters."
Supporters of the new shelter say there is a need and Co-Act Executive Director Paul Deslaurier has been less than happy with Pittsfield's response to his group's request for help, particularly with paying the utility bill.
In a phone interview last week, he said he was "very disappointed in [his] city" for not being supportive of Co-Act's efforts in regards to a shelter.
Mayor James Ruberto's office respondend with a statement saying the "City of Pittsfield provides over $400,000 in funding each year to human service agencies serving city residents. More than $80,000 of this funding is directed toward preventing and addressing homelessness.
"This includes funding to a number of the organizations that are participating in the discussions about a Day Center Initiative at the First United Methodist Church. Over 700 people are assisted every year as a result of the City's funding assistance for homeless services. City funding decisions are made on an annual basis through an open, competitive process overseen by an appointed Human Service Advisory Council. All funds available for the current fiscal year, which runs from July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011, have been awarded."
In the statement, the church is "encouraged to submit an application for Fiscal 2012" and to continue to "seek guidance from the agencies who are fundamental to our community’s success in addressing this important need" such as the BCAC, Berkshire Red Cross, Berkshire County Regional Housing Authority and Western Massachusetts Legal Services.
According to Errichetto, these types of collaborations and official avenues are essential to working successfully with the area's most disenfranchised population.
"It is a huge liability to just open a shelter," she said. "A very high percentage of our residents are struggling with mental health and addiction issues. They can't use while they are here. We want to ensure that people have access to the right services that they need but we also need to consider the safety of our staff and our other residents. I find myself educating our community a lot about homelessness."
In any case, the shelter group points to up to 20 people or more desperately in need who aren't getting help elsewhere for various reasons. The day shelter will be open two days a week from 9:30 to 2:30 at First United Methodist Church and will offer training and connection to other services.
