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Homeless plans: fewer shelters, more housing

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



HOLYOKE Providers of services to the homeless from throughout Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin Counties got their first look at not only a regional plan to end homelessness in Western Massachusetts but also the state plan to solve the problem.

At a meeting conducted at Holyoke Community College on Friday, Holyoke mayor Michael Sullivan and Northampton Mayor Mary Claire Higgins gave the representatives of the social service agencies a homework assignment: review the regional plan and make suggestions for changes so it can be rolled out later in the month when the state plan is introduced to Western Massachusetts.

The regional plan notes that one year ago on Jan. 30, 2007, when the plan first started being formed, there were more than 1,000 homeless persons on the streets and in shelters of the three counties. Over a year, 5,000 people in the area experience some form of homelessness.

The plan also notes homelessness is not just a problem of the urban centers, smaller communities such as Pelham, Hatfield, and Charlemont, for example, also have people who are homeless.

The regional plan's six goals are to:

Fund and coordinate prevention and rapid re-house

Create supportive housing for vulnerable populations

Increase the stock of affordable and workforce housing

Increase incomes and assets of homeless and at-risk households

Make supportive services available and accessible

Build community support for ending homelessness.

Geraldine McCafferty, who heads up the Springfield homeless efforts, said that while the regional and state plans have similarities, one of the important issues is to note the economic disparity between communities.

Prevention of homelessness by helping families and individuals to stay in their present homes is a key part of the plan, she said. Participation in the plan by the private sector is another vital part of the plan, she added.

Both Sullivan and Higgins are on the Massachusetts Commission to End Homelessness. A rollout of the plan was scheduled for Jan. 28 in Boston and Sullivan said the Western Massachusetts introduction to the plan would be. Feb. 29. The commission has been working on a statewide plan for the past five months.

Sullivan said he was "excited the progress has been made and the attention this administration is giving us."

He said there has been a "systemic challenge from Boston as they move their problems this way."

In the past, Boston authorities have literally relocated homeless people from that city to Western Massachusetts, and Sullivan said, "The Boston area has to learn how to solve their problems."

Sullivan commended the involvement from a wide array of state agencies in the creation of the state-wide plan, but noted the Department of Education never once sent a representative to address family homelessness.

Sullivan said that state resources must be out into Housing First programs -- those that put homeless people into apartments and then support them with social services -- as well as workforce development programs and wraparound services.

Higgins acknowledged the role former Springfield Mayor Charles Ryan played in the creation of plan and said, "He deserves a lot of the thanks."

The state plan calls for the abandonment of the present systems of shelters invest new resources into "building the infrastructure to stabilize, divert and re-house families and individuals who would otherwise be in or enter the shelter system."

The report calls for a reduction of 20 percent of family shelter units and individual beds and for the state to make an initial investment of $10 million to begin the planning for repurposing shelter facilities and service providers to play a key role in the new system.