PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The former St. Joseph's Central High School has been successfully serving the city's homeless for more than two weeks.

 

Fire Chief Thomas Sammons said it was clear from the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak that the 120-year-old school would have a part to play.

 

"There was a lot of good reasons to use the building," Sammons said. "It was well maintained before it was closed down. All of the services were all still turned on, including the heat, electricity, water, and the alarm system. More than that, it was clean and empty. The size of the building meant that people could spread out and take advantage of the social distancing guidelines."

 

The 44,650 square-foot school was closed at the end of the school year in 2017, a victim of declining enrollment. The Diocese of Springfield has had it on the market for two years. 

 

Sammons said work toward utilizing the building began in February as the novel coronavirus pandemic was spreading in America.

 

"We saw what was going on in Italy and Washington State. Myself and the deputy chiefs asked the question, how do we get in front of this thing?" he said. "That brought a lot of changes here including stepped up use of personal protective equipment and looking at how we can help with the problem."

 

Sammons said it was agreed that the facility could serve the overflow of people that would be displaced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. After running the idea by the county's two mayor and Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, they got to work.

 

The city's Building, Engineering, Information Technology and Health departments were involved in the project. Also, the Berkshire County sheriff's department and Fire Department helped in solving problems with getting the building prepared.

 

According to Director of Building Maintenance Brian Filault, the city has spent at this point around $15,500 to ready the building for the temporary use. Handicapped-accessible ramps have been installed inside and outside of the building. Building management equipment for the heating and hot water system has been repaired.

 

Emergency lighting and carbon monoxide detectors have also been installed throughout sleeping areas.

 

Also, the building has been thoroughly cleaned and wifi has been installed.

 

When the city finished up with repairs and upgrades, MEMA first considered using the building as a possible isolation location for those who may have been exposed to COVID-19, the fire chief said, but ended up using hotels.

 

Sammons said they then reached out to human service agencies ServiceNet and Soldier On for operations management and utilized funding captured by state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier to convert the centrally located space into a homeless shelter.

 

There has been concern that those without stable housing would not be able to social distance appropriately or have access to washing or sanitizers to help them avoid contracting the highly contagious virus.

 

Also the sheriff's office made available a Homeland Security Shelter Trailer that provided cots, blankets, and pillows.

 

Jay Sacchetti, a senior vice president at ServiceNet, said the building serves about 40 to 45 people a night.

 

"It creates the social distancing needed so from that perspective it is going well," he said. "We are able to provide three meals a day provided by Soldier On and our case managers are able to engage individuals who are interested to get them the help they need."

 

Sammons thanked all those who made the use of the building possible. 

 

"I can't say enough for the people and departments that stepped up to bring the building out of retirement to solve the problem of the homeless here in Pittsfield," he said.