'Tis the Season to be Merry

This time of the year is especially beautiful and makes many of us rejoice about life, the beauty of the world and the upcoming holidays. The foliage even attracts tourists from nearby states to come admire our local towns. However, this time of year is also tragic for many. The weather is getting colder and we must bundle up before going outside. It represents the end of a harvest and the oncoming death of nature through the winter. As such, it is vitally important that we all have a warm place to go, eat and relax after a long day. But are we all safe and secure? Are we forgetting about others who may not be so privileged and instead must endure the frosty nights in a tent or on a park bench? These people are also members of our community and we cannot forget or simply ignore them but rather we must supply them with at least the most basic needs so that they too can hope to enjoy the season.
Contrary to popular belief, homelessness is not due to laziness. The homeless are often placed in extreme circumstances that prevent them from retaining or gaining housing. A local shelter collected reasons such as being kicked out by parents for homosexuality, having abusive parents, and enforcing a foreclosure on the house of the father who passed away leaving overdue taxes as responsible for putting people out on the street. Certainly these people did not choose to end up on the street and likely could not have prevented it from happening. I would hope that if this happened to me or anyone else, we would have some help to get us back on our feet. Even worse is the fact that our own communities, including Amherst, Springfield and Holyoke, show pockets of people with as much as 30% of the population living under the poverty level. A recent study has shown that Amherst actually has the most homeless individuals, 16, of any other local towns, including Northampton. These data indicate the necessity for action and our responsibility to help our own community members.
Unfortunately, shelters in the region are few and far between. The closest to Amherst are in Greenfield, Holyoke and Springfield, all of which are quite distant for residents. On top of that, early entry times prevent the homeless from making money during the precious daylight. This situation is not endurable and we must change. Therefore, the town of Amherst is looking at several options. The best current possibility is to create emergency programs that deal with the consequences of homelessness rather than address the problem. Still, this remains the best option for people forced to spend long winter nights outside. One proposal is to use a portion of a public Amherst building to create a “warming-space.” This allows homeless individuals to spend the coldest hours inside a heated room. However, the room is not equipped with showers, a kitchen or cots to sleep on. The facility has a bathroom and a sink and would be staffed with competent workers to supervise and help. This option allows the homeless to stay warm but does not supply a place to sleep. This set-up would be a temporary crutch effective almost immediately and only until another solution is readied. However, it represents an effective way to help the homeless under the current circumstances.
Another option being considered is to pay rent for two apartment units and a corresponding staff person for each. These would be available for the homeless and could house 3 individuals each, for a total of 6. This option is favorable for the 6 individuals, who will have access to showers, a kitchen and mattresses, but leaves many others left out. The apartment units will also represent a large cost to the town that is spent on rent. This option allows for greater comfort for fewer individuals and a greater cost but it does not depend on the agreement of the Town of Amherst to allow use of a public building. Therefore, it remains a veritable emergency option.
On the other hand, a much more long-term option has also been proposed but this issue has already met resistance. A shelter for the town of Amherst would be an ideal solution, providing a place to sleep for many and an investment in a public building that will be favorable in the long run. However, residents have already looked unfavorably upon the project, imagining that properties around the shelter would lose value.
In the end, the important facts remain. We are currently grappling with homelessness, especially in Amherst, and we must all act as decent citizens to stop it. These dire economic times could also worsen the situation and we must therefore be prepared to handle a larger traffic. I demand that we be vigilant and not forget about our less fortunate community members as the cold creeps in.

Sources:
"All Roads Lead Home: The Pioneer Valley's Plan to End Homelessness" February 2008.

Amherst Homelessness Committee. October 22nd 2009.

"Feasibility Study: For Homeless Individuals in the Town of Amherst" October 1, 2009.