6 Weeks In, Worcester Residents Still Grappling With Homeless Shelter

WORCESTER, MA — It's been just over six weeks since a temporary emergency homeless shelter opened at the Blessed Sacrament Church along Pleasant Street, and local officials Monday updated residents on what's happened since Dec. 19.

The meeting, hosted by City Manager Eric Batista, Mayor Joseph Petty and District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj, covered some highs and lows of the new shelter, and fielded questions from local residents — many who still oppose the facility, which has 60 beds and turns no one away seeking shelter or a warm meal.

The meeting drew fewer people than one held Dec. 11 introducing Newton Square-area residents and business owners to plans for the shelter. But many of the questions and comments raised Monday echoed that first meeting.

Residents questioned the $1.1 million in state funds the shelter is getting, and whether some of it should be used to pay for another security guard; others criticized that the shelter is "wet," which means residents don't have to be sober as a condition of entry; and others said they want more done to corral the shelter residents when they either leave or get turned away. One woman, who said she operates a local daycare center, wanted to know if the nonprofit operating the shelter, Open Sky, is keeping track of sex offenders staying there — it's not, although Worcester police said any offender violating registration laws could get arrested.

Paula Bushey, a volunteer and board member with the Mustard Seed Catholic Worker soup kitchen, echoed a question asked by several: what's the long-term plan for sheltering the homeless in Worcester?

Batista said some residents will almost certainly return to the streets when the shelter closes for the season on March 31. There are also numerous housing projects in the works, including a hotel conversion recently approved by the Worcester Planning Board off Lincoln Street. Batista said he has also explored Pallet housing — a quick-build housing solution used by other cities facing rising homelessness. Boston erected a Pallet village at the Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain following a Mass and Cass sweep. He also said Open Sky employees are working to find shelter residents permanent housing before the March 31 closing date.

Earlier this month, Worcester Director of Homeless Services Eniya Lufumpa told the city's Human Rights Commission that there were 586 homeless people in the city as of November. Lufumpa reported about 500 homeless in the city just a few months earlier. Both of those figures are among the highest ever in the area.

The meeting did have some hostile moments. One man questioned Batista about whether Worcester should put homeless people on buses and ship them out of town. The man, who declined to provide his name, suggested Worcester take a cue from Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who flew migrants to Martha's Vineyard in a swipe at heavily Democratic areas.

"Put them on a bus, send them to DeSantis," the man said.

"We don't want to pass the buck," Batista responded. "We want to work together with them, so they can leave addiction and have a better quality of life."

Some residents also questioned how the shelter was presented last year, and said they felt communication hasn't been totally clear since it opened. Haxhiaj said she met with a Newton Square neighborhood group earlier in January, where police promised to respond to any problems swiftly. Petty had previously promised to hold Monday's meeting.

"I'm here to listen," Haxhiaj said. "This is a life-saving opportunity, and people deserve the dignity of hot meals and shelter and safety."

Worcester police Officer Michael Higgins offered data on police responses in the 500 feet around the shelter since it opened. The number of responses has definitely gone up, he said, from 60 in December to 125 in January — 101 of those related to the shelter. Police count incidents like panhandling, but also whenever officers visit the shelter.

Police responded to 52 medical calls in December and January, including nine overdoses. There have also been 21 disorderly conduct incidents, and one death at the shelter. But Higgins said an increase in police attention in the area has prevented serious incidents.

"I've seen a vast improvement," he said. "I think what we're doing is working."

After the meeting, Blessed Sacrament Rev. Thomas Landry reflected on the few weeks the shelter has been open. He said some will likely always see the shelter as a threat, but to him, it's a part of the larger community that has its rightful place.

The bigger challenge, Landry said, is finding ways to solve the roots of homelessness, which includes looking at issues like education, healthcare and social services.

"It was still the right thing to do," he said of opening the shelter. "This is the nature of what it means to be in a community."