(1/23/07) The Amherst Emergency Homelessness Task Force has created a brochure listing all the shelter, food and drop-in center services available locally to assist homeless people. It also lists emergency resources and hotlines such as the Amherst Police, Cooley- Dickinson Hospital, First Call for Help and Everywoman's Center.
Roy Rosenblatt, the Town's Director of Community Services, said the primary purpose was to catalog local shelter options.
“The intent is to provide resources for emergency housing,” he said, making the distinction between emergency and long-term needs.
Flo Stern, chair of the Task Force, emphasized that point, saying that the brochure can help put people in touch with the greater network of social services they may need, but it is aimed at giving them access to a warm, safe place for a night.
“Some people don't choose to go anywhere, and that's their option,” Stern said. “But for people who do want to go somewhere, this can help.”
The brochure will be available at places like the Survival Center and Not Bread Alone, as well as at Town Hall (and on its web site,) the libraries, Bangs Center, the police station, the schools, places of worship, coffee shops, liquor stores, laundromats, and “any place the committee feels people can find it, and it can be helpful to those in need,” said Rosenblatt.
The Emergency Homelessness Task Force was created by the Select Board in April of 2006, formalizing a group that had come together at the urging of Ken Mosakowski, a long-time political activist and advocate for the homeless, who passed away this past November. Mosakowski had encountered a woman in need of a place to spend the night, and didn't know how to help her or where to refer her. The group was born of that experience. The summary of the task force's charge says it: “Works on outreach and solutions for people who are in need of emergency shelter; to evaluate the extent of the homeless problem within the town; and offer further recommendations.”
“We aren't a long-term committee,” explained Stern. “We are a year-long task force, and the focus is immediacy.”
She said that the brochure was a key goal of the group, and that their next step is research to see what other services are needed locally. They will present any recommendations to the Select Board. The group has already been in touch with people from different organizations dealing with the homeless population to get a sense of what is available. Among those the group has conferred with is Amherst Police Chief Charles Scherpa, whom Stern praised for his cooperation and assistance.
“He's prepared to do whatever he can to help out,” she said, including having the police transport people to the emergency shelters. She said that the 911 number is emphasized in the brochure as an emergency resource.
Stern said the initial printing of the brochures was 500 copies, and that more can be produced as needed.
“I hope it works,” she said.
-- Stephanie O'Keeffe
