GREENFIELD — While the issue of homelessness cannot be solved overnight, City Council has made attempts to try and help the homeless residents that have been living on the Greenfield Common.
More than 100 people attended the City Council’s emergency meeting to address the growing homeless population on the Greenfield Common. The meeting, called by Mayor William Martin, drew support to find temporary and permanent housing for the homeless, with general agreement that removing the homeless from the common would be inhumane.
Homeless residents have been camping on the common for about a month because it has become the only place they have deemed safe. The common has no time constraints, so people can gather there at all times. The encampment has grown from two people to an estimated 20 each night.
As the numbers grew so have the concerns of residents and city officials. Questions raised Thursday night included what can be done about sanitation and what can be done in the short-term and long-term to address homelessness in the city.
The council discussed several measures proposed to help the homeless, though prior to the meeting, only At Large Councilor Isaac Mass proposed an ordinance to address the growing population on the common.
One of Mass’s proposals was to make Wedgewood Gardens, city-owned property on Kimball Drive off Colrain Street, a place where homeless residents could set up a temporary camp similar to what has happened on the common. The proposal would remove time limits of occupancy at the former mobile home park.
The second of Mass’s proposals was to restrict the activities allowed on the common. If passed, the ordinance would require getting permission from the Board of License Commissioners to set up temporary structures on the public land and approval from the board would be needed for items including tents, tarps, sleeping bags or any other material larger than 2 square-feet.
The council passed the proposal related to Wedgewood Gardens, with all councilors present except Mass voting in favor. Mass abstained.
The council voted to table Mass’s second proposal until the option and its potential ramifications can be further investigated. The council is expected to take the motion back up next week.
The council passed a motion proposed by At-Large Council President Karen “Rudy” Renaud that lifts restrictions on temporary shelters that can hinder religious organizations from establishing them.
Renaud’s proposal included removing a need for insurance and imposing only regulations that are “necessary to protect public health and safety and that do not substantially burden the decisions or actions of a religious organization regarding the location of housing or shelter for homeless persons on property owned by the religious organization.”
Religious organizations will still have to meet safety measures including fire detection services. Fire Chief Robert Strahan said during the meeting that building codes mandate some form of fire detection, and depending on the detection system, determine how many consecutive days the shelter can be open and how long the shelter can be allowed.
Another proposal, put forth by Precinct 6 Councilor Sheila Gilmour, requested that Martin have a porta-potty placed on the common. Initially, Gilmour proposed the toilet be placed on the common itself but Martin suggested what he viewed as a better location — in a parking space near the common.
The motion passed with every councilor present except Mass voting in favor. Mass abstained.
Martin suggested a motion to limit the hours the common can be open to the public. The motion was not taken up by the council.
MJ Adams, who works in the city’s community development department, said during the meeting if the motion was taken up, Martin and his office would create a “rapid re-housing team” that would assist those on the common with securing housing and employment. Community Action, ServiceNet, Salvation Army and Eliot Homeless Services agreed to be part of the team, Adams said.
Adams said Martin would create a task force to address winter shelter needs and work with the Greenfield Housing Authority to develop additional single-occupancy housing options.
During public comment, more than 20 residents spoke about the issue, with a majority asking for solutions and for the residents to not be removed from the common. The public spoke for about two hours on the matter.
“These are people. We do have to take care of people,” resident Garrett Connelly said.
“Safe and affordable housing is not a luxury. It is a basic human right,” Michael Penn-Strah said to applause.
Liza Knapp, pastor of the First Church of Deerfield, a United Church of Christ and Unitarian Universalist church, said while her congregation and others have attempted to help the homeless, it is also the duty of the council and others.
“We will be true to our call, but we need you, the town council, to also be true to yours and help in any way that you can,” she said.
Also during the public comment, an unnamed resident made groans from the back of the room, which Council President Renaud said was jeering. She asked that no jeering or derogatory comments are made, but the jeers continued.
Renaud halted the meeting during public comment and asked Greenfield Police to remove the unnamed person from the meeting. Police Chief Robert Haigh did, but not before the person yelled “I have the right of free speech.”
According to Haigh, Renaud, as president of the council, has the authority to ask someone to leave the meeting.
Some of those living on the common spoke, accentuating what has driven them to the public area.
Madelynn Malloy recounted that a fire caused her to lose her home, her job and eventually, her daughter Josephine, taken by the Department of Children and Families. Malloy said she and others were not an issue when they weren’t in the public eye.
“The town was fine when we were in the woods. We were out of sight and out of mind,” Madelynn Malloy said.
But they were removed from the woods, Malloy said, and the “only place we were allowed to be was on the town common.”
“Now we are in your face and you don’t like it,” she said.
“When you are left out in the cold after you have been thrown out of your place because you were targeted, it’s not right and no one wants to help … but all of the homeless people on the common need help and they need a safe space,” homeless resident Richard Perry said.
While the support for the homeless residents was widespread, some residents voiced concerns about what has happened. Some said the growing number of people permanently on the common has made the location seem unsafe. There were also concerns voiced about smoking on the common.