The Gazette’s Oct. 2 issue edition had a front-page article about Amherst’s consideration of a joint shelter with 40 beds, including associated services, and a housing complex with 30 single-room occupancy apartments on the site of a former VFW building [”Amherst eyes joint homeless shelter, housing on old VFW site”].

Northampton needs such a facility, and surely must have an appropriate building for its development. Vast sums are being spent on the so-called Resiliency Hub, which will do almost nothing to solve the problems that exist for the unhoused among us. Perhaps that is not the goal.

Although shelter beds, showers, and services are mentioned as included in the plan, the numbers of beds are so low as to be practically useless. A number of beds sufficient to provide shelter for those who need it should be the goal, and housing of a more permanent nature needs to be included to provide homes for those progressing out of the shelter or from other situations. And this needs to happen sooner rather than later.

There have been unhoused in Northampton for as long as I have lived here (45 years), and I assume long before that. The shelter system was developed, first by volunteers and churches, and then taken over by social services agencies, sometimes including volunteers for some services. The system needs improvement, e.g., in terms of the numbers provided shelter, the availability of a place to be during the day, and comprehensive services and support available in the same location. Those ready for more permanent housing need apartments, such as the SROs in the Amherst proposal, and providing them in the same location has advantages, such as in transitioning and in improving the fit in the neighborhood in which the housing is located.

There are plenty of people in this city who have been working on these issues for a very long time. We are long overdue for implementation of “housing first.” I would hope that those in the public, private and nonprofit sectors with the knowledge and skills would put their efforts into identifying the appropriate existing building and developing a plan such as Amherst is doing, including involving the community rather than presenting a faitaccompli.

Colleen C. Currie

Florence