Pittsfield Homeless Panel Mulls Pressures of State Sheltering Changes
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Statewide changes in shelter regulations have put further stress on the homeless population.
These include a nine-month stay limit for families waiting to find permanent housing and up to five days at a respite site across the state.
"There are currently about 7,500 family units of shelter across the state and there are probably another 700 people on a contact list awaiting a shelter placement," Erin Forbush, director of shelter and housing at ServiceNet, reported to the Homelessness Advisory Committee.
She advised the panel to think about local families eligible for Emergency Housing Assistance who are waiting and families who are not eligible. EA is a state program that provides shelter and financial support to families with children or pregnant women experiencing homelessness.
The approaching colder season also poses a threat.
"Many families I know in this community are in their cars," Forbush said. "It's that much harder to be in your car in the winter."
Director of Community Development Justine Dodds said that there aren't enough resources or housing to go around and it's becoming increasingly challenging, especially with the limitations on some of these programs.
Last year, the governor declared a state of emergency due to a boom in immigrant families arriving in Massachusetts in need of shelter and services and a "severe" lack of shelter availability. The EA system was then determined to be at capacity with 7,500 families.
In July, the Healey-Driscoll administration announced changes to its EA prioritization and safety-net sites.
"These changes are intended to address the system's continuing capacity constraints, lower costs, and protect the financial sustainability of the EA system," according to a press release.
Beginning Aug. 1, families are prioritized for placement in EA shelters if they are homeless because of a no-fault eviction, because of sudden or unusual circumstances in the state beyond their control, or if they have at least one member who is a veteran. Families will continue to be prioritized if they have significant medical needs, newborn children, are at risk of domestic violence, or are homeless because of fire, flood, or other disasters.
Those not prioritized for EA shelters can stay at a temporary respite center in Chelsea, Lexington, Cambridge, and Norfolk for up to five days. If they choose that route, they must wait at least six months for placement in the state's emergency shelter system.
A nine-month stay requirement for EA shelters was signed into law in the spring.
ServiceNet operates two shelters in Pittsfield: a 40-bed facility on Pearl St. and a recently opened shelter for about 25 families.
Forbush reported that the average range for finding families housing is a year. With a nine-month limit on sheltering, it is a tight deadline.
"The change really was that people could come into the system and they would stay in the system or in the shelter until we were able to find them permanent housing. Now because of the crisis in the homeless-specific family system, they have created a nine-month length of stay for families," she said.
"So families are able to be in the shelter but it's always been important that we house families as quickly as possible and it's unfortunate the timing of this because it's actually that much harder to house families today than it was a year two years ago."
Families can apply for a voucher to stay in the shelter for a couple of months longer.
"We're lucky to have a 40-bed shelter here in Pittsfield. We have not had that always," Forbush said. "But the need is greater than those 40."
The committee also discussed the upcoming winter with homelessness.
Dodds pointed out that ServiceNet's temporary emergency shelter at the former St. Joseph's High School had the capacity for expansion to accommodate more people but at the new Pearl St. location that may not be possible.
There are over 40 units of "extremely low-income" housing units in progress that will not be ready for the winter.
Dodds suggested looking at ways to be more flexible when it comes to temporary emergency needs for shelter.
"We're going to try our best to advocate for some flexibility in how we interpret things. We're going to try our best to advocate for funding and try our best all around to really help our most vulnerable community members be safe this winter," she said.
Forbush added that "we don't always think about families every winter and typically we don't because there is another system."
"And now we have to add on to that," she explained. "Even families that are eligible may not have a space to go."
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