GREENFIELD — For Madelynn Malloy, being without a home wasn’t her choice.
Instead, she was thrust into the situation because of compounding matters that were started by a single catastrophe two years ago, when a fire at 114 Wells St. in May 2016 destroyed the apartments of 10 people, including the one Malloy and her daughter, Josephine, lived in.
“I made very good money, had nice things. …We lacked for nothing,” Malloy said. “Then at 3 a.m., my world was destroyed. I didn’t cause the fire. It wasn’t even in my apartment and I am looked at like I did not do enough or I am not doing enough.”
The loss of the home, along with being in an abusive relationship, caused trauma that Malloy couldn’t overcome, eventually leading Malloy to resign from her job and rendering her unable to find a permanent home for her and her daughter.
Now Malloy, who is aided by her service dog Stella to help cope with the trauma, is without her daughter because she couldn’t provide for her.
Malloy is one of several homeless residents camping out on the Greenfield Common, drawing concern and criticism from other residents.
Malloy said as many as 12 people a night are sleeping on the common, which has become one of the few safe — and free — places where homeless residents can stay.
“I know the community is not very happy with our presence here, but we have no other option,” she said. “We’re trying to keep it neat and orderly until we get another option.”
Mayor William Martin and Greenfield Police Chief Robert Haigh both said they have received several complaints about those living on the common this year. Haigh said this is not a new situation, but he has heard about it more from residents now than in previous years.
And according to both Martin and Haigh, there is nothing they can directly do to prevent homeless residents from camping on the common.
“We’ve had a lot of calls, emails. People are all upset, but it’s a Town Common. The right of assembly is specifically allowed,” Martin said.
Haigh said residents staying on the common are not in violation of any ordinance or law, as long as they remain clean and orderly.
“There’s nothing that prevents people from being on the Town Common at any point … as long as it’s cleaned up and not left in disarray and there isn’t litter and such, there’s no technical violations that have occurred,” Haigh said.
Martin said the residents are not loitering, according to the city’s definition; the language of the ordinance only pertains to sidewalks. “No person shall stand or remain on any sidewalk in such a manner as to obstruct the free passage of persons thereon after a request to move on by a police officer,” the ordinance reads.
Martin said in a statement that all public lands, with the exception of the common and conservation lands, have hours of operation that can be enforced.
One issue that could be a violation of either laws or ordinances is the act of defecating on private property. Haigh said police have received reports about this.
“That’s a big health issue, a sanitary issue,” Haigh said, and could be considered disorderly conduct.
But Malloy said she knows who is defecating on private property and it is not the people on the common.
The issue of homelessness has many causes, according to Malloy and Mary McClintock, community collaboration coordinator for the Franklin County Resource Network. The group works with social service agencies in the area to help address homelessness.
McClintock said one issue is that in spite of the resources available, there is a shortage of how much agencies can provide for residents.
“They can find resources … but there’s any number of times people tried any number of resources … and there are none available,” McClintock said.
Another issue, she said, “is not enough affordable housing in Greenfield or Franklin County. You can’t be a dishwasher and afford to rent a room.” This includes both temporary and more permanent options.
The city has two shelters, one for individuals and one for families, which both have waiting lists, McClintock said.
Subsidized housing through the Greenfield Housing Authority, which can be a longer-term option, has a years-long waiting list, she said.
In order to address these issues, Martin said in a statement that he will be calling on social service agencies to participate in a resource fair on the common, as well as a roundtable conversation “to discuss existing capacity and gaps in the system and how we can jointly collaborate to identify resources to support a sustainable solution.”
City Council President Karen “Rudy” Renaud said the council will be inviting members from human service agencies to discuss the situation in August.
“This is a question of human rights. It’s not about changing laws to criminalize homeless people and outlaw places they can be because for some it is an eye sore,” Renaud said via text. “It’s about stepping up and creating safety nets for the poor and disenfranchised.”
These conversations are in addition to ones ongoing by the Human Rights Commission, as well as a discussion among members of the homeless community, city officials and social service agencies held last week by the Franklin County Resource Network.