A New Model For Services For The Unhoused 

Report On The Meeting Of the Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, June 8, 2023

Tim McCarthy, director of Craig’s Doors, spoke at the June 8 meeting of the Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust (AMAHT) about his vision for a supportive shelter at the site of the former VFW, which the town has purchased for a permanent shelter. McCarthy’s talk can be viewed here. He said that in his regular conversations with Assistant Town Manager Dave Ziomek, he understands that the town must take a prescriptive approach to developing the property. He is hoping demolition of the VFW building will occur over the summer. Then the town must find an architect to design the new building and secure funding.

Despite the fact that the project may take years to develop, McCarthy is excited that there will be a permanent place for the unhoused population in Amherst. But he has a vision of what sort of project Craig’s Doors would love to see in town. He cites the example of the Yawkey Housing Resource Center in Quincy that opened recently and  makes use of academic research, accumulated data, and historical perspective to provide “wraparound” services to those who are experiencing or who are at risk for homelessness. 

McCarthy would like Craig’s Doors to be more than an emergency shelter, and to offer mental health and medical services, transitional housing, and possibly affordable housing. He emphasized that the people who come to Craig’s Doors are almost never receiving the services they need to succeed. He stressed that, even in the housing-first model, we need to bring the services to the clients, not require the clients to travel to the services. He imagines the shelter as a hub, with space for practitioners to meet with clients in private.

He said many projects fail due to the lack of authentic collaboration with available services. Therefore, Craig’s Doors is trying to work with resources in the valley that provide the critical resources the guests rely on to establish durable relationships. He feels that “the more we can promote community buy-in and a clinical and therapeutic model, the more successful we will be in having people truly exit homelessness.” He asked, “How can we expect people who haven’t had a home for many years to know how to succeed in living independently? What experience would prepare them? There is an expectation that they will continue to receive services when they are in a home, but it just doesn’t happen, and they end up returning to homelessness after a year.” 

Craig’s Doors is one of the only programs on the East Coast participating in a federal program on reimagining homelessness. Some of this involves changing terminology, because some resources and opportunities are not available to people who are homeless. They are discriminated against in their search for jobs and housing. McCarthy emphasized the need to get creative with space, providing a multi-purpose area with a congregate shelter, non-congregate space, transitional housing, and supportive services.

Town Manager Paul Bockelman praised McCarthy for his broad vision and for the specificity of his recommendation. He said the town was focused at finding a place for Craig’s Doors, but McCarthy framed the need as “a continuum of care”. Bockelman did caution that this ambitious model would require years to bring to fruition, and would most likely cost $8 to $10 million.

Ziomek said he is picturing a three-story building with community space and services on the ground floor and supportive housing on the upper floors. AMAHT Co-chair Carol Lewis suggested that the town form a steering committee to work on the project from the ground up. Trust member Aschleigh Jensen wondered if the concept can be scaled up to serve more categories of people, including people who do not need many services, but need small apartments that would cost much less than the $350,000 to $500,000 per unit of affordable housing. McCarthy said Craig’s Doors currently serves 63 individuals, and he is wary of growing much larger. He thinks other communities should step up, noting that there are no shelters in Holyoke.

In-Person Listening Session On Housing Scheduled For June 20
The Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee, the Human Rights Commission, and the Board of Health are co-sponsoring a listening session on affordable housing at the Bangs Center, 70 Boltwood Walk on Tuesday, June 20 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Philip Avila and Liz Haygood of the Human Rights Commission will be facilitators. For more information, see https://www.amherstma.gov/2199/Amherst-Affordable-Housing-Trust-Fund .