Worcester Reports Rise In Homeless Residents In 2021

WORCESTER, MA — Outreach workers in Worcester this week reported a rise in the number of people experiencing homelessness in the city, which they attributed to a range of factors from the pandemic to weather.

Members of the city's homelessness outreach team told the Human Rights Commission (HRC) on Monday that there are now 370 homeless people living either in shelters or on city streets. About 137 of those people are unsheltered, and 38 are chronically homeless.

Those figures come from the annual point-in-time (PIT) count conducted during the spring. The 2020 PIT counted more than 600 people as homeless, plus 99 more who are chronically homeless. The 2020 figures are for the entire county however, not just the city of Worcester.

Worcester Homeless Outreach Strategist Eniya Lufumpa told the HRC the increase is due to several reasons: warmer weather allowing people to live outdoors; displacement due to the coronavirus pandemic; poor planning following a person's exit from a shelter; and more people coming to Worcester in search of services like addiction treatment. That last factor may also be a result of people leaving shelters in other cities without a plan.

There are about 150 shelter beds across three facilities available in Worcester, Homelessness Projects Manager Evis Terpollari told the HRC, plus about 27 more for people who identify as women.

To combat homelessness, Terpollari and Lufumpa said the city is focused on getting people into housing first and then services, if needed. The city has had trouble housing some homeless people. People who have been charged with a sex offense, arson or drug manufacturing typically don't qualify for typical housing solutions.

Some homeless residents have also reported poor treatment in shelters, Lufumpa said. Those problems range from disrespect to a lack of services.

Worcester has seen two high-profile encampment clearings in recent months. In October, the city, state Department of Transportation and a private railroad company cleared a camp along the Blackstone River behind Walmart.

Shortly after, the owner of a vacant lot near Park Avenue and Chandler Street behind Beaver Brook Park cleared a small camp and DIY skateboard park. A city spokesperson said the property owner, listed as Janet Krock on city records, cleared the camp after getting cited for overgrown vegetation. City outreach workers offered the residents of the camp were offered shelter beds and treatment services, the spokesman said.