Berkshire Athenaeum Hires Social Worker
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Athenaeum now has a full-time social worker to meet community members' needs that go beyond books.
A few months ago, Gabriela Leon was hired as the first library social worker in Berkshire County. The position was created to address service gaps for unhoused people who frequent the library, located centrally on Wendell Avenue.
"I'm here to really just connect people with resources, be available," Leon told the Homelessness Advisory Committee on Wednesday.
"My door is open to not just the unhoused population, to anyone in this library that may have a need, or a concern, or just need a space to talk and navigate certain situations."
Libraries have in many cases become places of sanctuary for the unhoused and poor. They offer warmth, a place to rest, bathroom facilities and access to resources to information, resources and internet. The American Library Association describes it as an opportunity to change lives.
According to a job posting from last year, the position manages and develops programs to meet patrons' behavioral health needs in the context of the library, and fosters equity and access to resources for behavioral health, substance misuse, housing, employment, and education.
The library social worker will also lead "compassionate enforcement" efforts. Duties include staff assistance and training, direct patron work, and building community partnerships.
While the librarians are "so incredibly skilled" at their positions, Leon explained, their areas of expertise are not in social work, crisis intervention, and de-escalation. Her position, as she understands, was brought in to address those needs.
During the first two months, Leon performed a needs assessment with each department to see how they can be supported, and is working on building a curriculum to address training gaps identified by employees.
Trauma-informed care training has been among the requests.
"Staff have been utilizing me," Leon said.
"This could be for consultation on programs that are being developed. Are we creating programs that are meeting the needs of the community? I think my work offers a different lens than they're used to, and it's really helpful in making sure that these programs are really meaningful."
When people are unhoused, everything is a need from the moment they wake up, if they even slept that night, she added, "And I think what this space offers is help figuring out what is a priority right now and today."
She is also reaching out to young adults, connecting them with opportunities such as mentorship programs with 18 Degrees, and has begun "warm handoffs" with other local agencies. A warm handoff is a direct transfer of care or services between providers.
The library social worker also checks in with the Pittsfield Police Department co-responders and Second Street Second Chances every couple of months, and the plan is to have a service provider at the Berkshire Athenaeum every weekday.
"We're all serving the same population, so building that cohesion across teams is going to be very important in our community," Leon said.
In the past week, she has secured outreach commitment from the Brien Center, ServiceNet, Living In Recovery, Alternative Living Centers, and Berkshire Harm Reduction. She explained that these providers won't be pushed on community members, but will familiarize them with available resources in a familiar place.
Leon is now looking to bring in Community Legal Aid and a mobile health unit.
She has been in the field locally for five or six years.
"What made me make the jump here is that there's a community need," she explained.
"And it's so much more than just being unhoused or just struggling with substance use disorder. It is so complex, and this population needs the space and the support to help navigate that."
Tags: berkshire athenaeum, homeless, library,
