Letter: Homeless Families at MCLA a Misguided Effort

To the Editor:

It has been 24 years since Mass MoCA opened and I'm still waiting for the seismic shift in our economy and downtown that MoCA's developers promised. Main and Eagle Streets are still largely empty and depressing. While MoCA has certainly helped in many ways, its presence has failed to impact our downtown. Why?

Because North Adams does not suffer from a quick-fix acute illness. But rather, it has a very real chronic disease, poverty. The cure for this disease is societal, far beyond the ability and efforts of any single poor city or single state economic development project, like MoCA.

One thing is certain, purposefully concentrating more poor people in already poor places appears to be the rule. Not to solve the problem, but to hide it from the more affluent places, while also giving them opportunity to feel benevolent about having found a humane solution to homelessness. It's no surprise that Salem (home of Salem State University) and Buzzards Bay (home of the Maritime Academy), both with median incomes of about $37,000, are already hosting homeless families at their college facilities.

President Birge's misguided effort to house 50 homeless families lacks any foresight of its larger impact on North Adams and any positive vision for a brighter future for North Adams. Could the bar be set any lower? Is that really the best use of those buildings to serve the college and our community? Does he really believe this would be temporary housing? In 18 months is he going to evict them and make them homeless again?

I am not heartless. I certainly have empathy for those 50 homeless families and I hope they find shelter ASAP. But, not here. I just don't accept that this is the only or best solution to the problem of homelessness.

$2.7 million to house 50 families = $54,000 per family = $148 per night. My guess is that there are some struggling hotels and motels in the state, possibly even in Williamstown, that would love an 18-month contract for full occupancy with guaranteed payment. And, the state would save the money on the service contract!

Let's not forget that Alternative Living Centers, a housing program for recovering addicts, is located on Montana Street. Again, something critically needed. Yet, again, located in North Adams. Not to mention that the MCLA campus will be bound on two sides; homeless housing for 50 families on Church Street and a drug recovery housing project on Montana Street. That's not a great marketing plan for MCLA to attract more students. In fact, I suspect it will kill enrollment and the college.

This city has hosted a disproportionate number of poor people for 50 years. Let some other city/town, say one with a median income of $120,000.00, share and assume some of the burdens that poverty places on this city and hold it back from a more promising future.

Our downtown will never thrive until we have at least a modest demographic shift to include more people with disposable incomes, who live here year-round, to shop in stores and eat in restaurants.

This idea of importing more poor people is an awful and destructive idea for both MCLA and North Adams.

Peter May
North Adams, Mass.

North Adams Unveils Hometown Heroes Banners

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
04:30PM / Friday, May 22, 2026

Carol Ethier-Kipp holds up the first aid kit her father used as an Army medic in World War II. See more photos here. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City of North Adams honored its own on Friday afternoon, unveiling 50 downtown street banners representing local veterans who served — and continue to serve — the community and the country.

 

More than 300 residents packed the front lawn of City Hall as the community took a moment to reflect on its "Hometown Heroes" during the morning unveiling ceremony.

 

"In a city like North Adams, service is personal. The men and women we honor today are not strangers to us. They are our neighbors, our classmates, our parents, our grandparents," Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the crowd. "... These banners are far more than names and pictures hanging along our streets. They are visible reminders of the values that define North Adams: courage, sacrifice, humility, duty, resilience, and the love of country. They remind every person who passes by that this community remembers our veterans."

 

The banner program launched exactly a year ago. Veterans Services Agent Kurtis Durocher opened applications in October and spent the next six months working with families to bring the project to Main Street and over the Hadley Overpass. 

 

"We gather to recognize the brave men and women from our community who have served or who are currently serving in the United States armed forces," Durocher said. "These banners are more than images. They bear a tribute to service, sacrifice, courage, and pride, and they remind us that the freedoms we enjoy every day have been protected by our neighbors, family members, friends, and Hometown Heroes."

 

Each banner features a portrait of a veteran alongside their military branch and dates of service.

 

Durocher noted that the program was something residents clearly wanted, pointing to how fast applications flooded his desk. He praised the volunteers who stepped up to get the banners made and displayed — including city firefighters and Mitchell Meranti of Wire & Alarm Department, who were installing them as late as Thursday night.