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Date: 5/17/2022
AMHERST – Craig’s Doors, an organization providing shelter, resources, meals and more to people experiencing homelessness is making adjustments to its temporary shelter locations as summer makes its way over to Western Massachusetts.
The congregate shelter at the Unitarian Meetinghouse was set to close May 16 with the agency securing 10 rooms at the Knights Inn in Hadley starting on the same day. An additional 10 rooms will be added to the Knights Inn shelter on June 1.
“Beginning on June 1, the agency will have 20 rooms at the University Motor Lodge and 20 rooms at the Knights Inn for a total of 40 rooms that could potentially house up to 80 people, 24-hours-per-day, seven days per week through March 31, 2023,” said Town Manager Paul Bockelman.
Craig’s Doors Executive Director Kevin Noonan said Amherst opened a shelter at First Baptist Church in 2009. It was known as Craig’s Doors by 2011.
“I knew Craig, he was a gentle giant,” Noonan recalled. “He was around 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-5 and he was a Navy veteran. He became homeless and he had some mental health issues and he self-medicated. But he played the marimba in front of Ted’s Boots in Northampton. He had this beautiful wooden marimba. When we started the shelter in 2009, we called it ‘The Warming Place’ and we let people just sit in chairs and gave them a blanket and a yoga mat and a pillow just to make the chair more comfortable and for some reason, they figured out how to just take that yoga mat and blanket and pillow and put it on the floor. I don’t know who told them to do that, but they did.”
Noonan said Craig was one of those guys sleeping at the original shelter.
“One day he came in after a bad day and he said to one of the staff members, ‘I just wish I had a door I could close.’ And we said, ‘You know, that’s really true. People who are homeless don’t have that agency of a door, they don’t have the ability to just shut the world out for a minute or a night.’ That’s really what we do at Craig’s Doors, that’s our covenant. You sleep, we watch, and we keep you safe. And it works because then our whole philosophy is geared to, yes people have problems, yes people have addictions, but that shouldn’t be a death sentence. In this climate, you can die from freezing to death very easily and especially if you’re intoxicated or under the influence. We’re committed to making sure that that doesn’t happen.”
Craig’s Doors recently received $25,000 from the state and a new bathroom and shower facility at their resource center from the town. The resource center is located in the parking lot of First Baptist Church and is open every weekday except Wednesdays from 12 until 3 p.m., according to their website.
“Visitors will be able to charge their cell phones, use computers, pick up mail, and get help with applications and other information about available programs,” the site explains. “We will also be serving a free lunch each day, courtesy of the Amherst Survival Center.”
Craig’s Doors is seeking additional funding to upgrade from a trailer and build a permanent hub and shelter for people experiencing homelessness. Noonan said its likely but not guaranteed that the town will dedicate some of their ARPA funding to help with costs.
“The town has ARPA funds, so of the $12 million they set aside $2 million, half for affordable housing and half for a permanent shelter site for Amherst. Craig’s Doors is the only [one] in town so it’s most likely us but it still remains to be seen,” Noonan said. “This started in June of 2021, and they still haven’t committed. They’ve been looking for a site and they have some good leads but nothing definite.”