Letter: MCLA Homeless Shelter Should Have Had Public Input

To the Editor:

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

"… the historic public purpose of American higher education is to respond to the needs and demands of society." President Jamie Birge, WAMC 5/10/2023

The problem of the poor and unhoused is a symptom of a decline in democratic values and income inequality. A simple change in the earned income tax credit was able to cut child poverty by about 46 percent in just a few months.

Massachusetts needs more than 200,000 new homes in order to start addressing the housing crisis. What is stopping Massachusetts from building these homes? Powerful interests who do not have a modicum of decency prevent democratic actions to address our problems. Democracy means participation and engagement. It requires leaders to inspire open and respectful dialogue to address the needs of the people.

In 2014, North Adams Regional Hospital was closed with three days notice with no public hearing. Shortly after the hospital closing, the state closed our North Adams welfare office and our North Adams employment office with no public hearing.

Richard Dassatti
North Adams, Mass. 

Northern Berkshire United Way: 1950s Sees New Name, Same Mission

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
07:01PM / Sunday, March 29, 2026

Northern Berkshire United Way is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. Each month, we will take a look back at the agency's milestones over the decades. This first part looks at its successes and challenges during the war years.

 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Frank Bond, a founding member of the community chest, had the honor of cutting a cake at the 1956 annual meeting to mark the 20 years since its establishment. 

 

The organization had successfully grown over the past 20 years and, by the end of the decade, would see its campaign drives pass the $100,000 mark and the number of agencies under its umbrella grow to 17. 

 

The community chest had also changed names, becoming a United Fund, a natural outgrowth of its establishment to bring multiple local social service campaigns under one umbrella, and would include both Clarksburg and Stamford, Vt.

 

But that impetus for its founding would continue to bedevil the United Fund as more organizations, some national, would continue to compete for local dollars. 

 

At the beginning of the decade, Executive Secretary Estelle Howard said there were still too many independent appeals and that "serious thought must be given to this problem."

 

"Competition for the contributors' dollar, for volunteer workers' time and for publicity are getting out of bounds," she said.