Greenfield’s City Council president got to the heart of the matter last week when she instigated creation of a task force on affordable housing. It was nice to see this kind of leadership on a difficult issue.
In a way, we can thank the homeless people who chose to camp on the Greenfield Common this summer, many of whom couldn’t find a place to live that they could afford. Their predicament was compounded by there being too few homeless shelter beds in Greenfield to handle the growing need.
So, the Common filled with tents as word spread among the homeless that the center of downtown was a safe place and that town officials seemed unwilling or unable to move them.
While town officials quarreled about whether the encampment should be closed or moved, or other remedies found. Some, including Mayor William Martin, argued homelessness wasn’t the town’s problem to solve, but that clearing the common of a health and safety hazard was.
We think he had that half right. As ultimately became clear, the city did have the authority to keep its common clear of campers. But it also has the obligation to help — by doing what it can to increase the number of shelter beds. But that’s short-term thinking. More important is trying to understand and solve the underlying issues that lead to homelessness.
Yes, the state funnels money to homeless shelters, but that doesn’t mean the housing situation in Greenfield is the state’s problem.
That’s where City Council President Karen “Rudy” Renaud was spot on. She argued in essence that Greenfield has some role in addressing the homelessness issue, and persuaded the council to form the Greenfield Affordable Housing Partnership to look into affordable housing in general, because homeless shelters and tent cities are just the bottom rung of the housing ladder — a circumstance that should be unacceptable in a caring community like Greenfield.
The partnership will report to the council monthly, and it will have one year to get back with a full report on the state of homelessness and affordable housing in Greenfield.
The partnership will include two city councilors, two representatives from non-profits who work on housing issues, three concerned residents with relevant experience, two members from any of the city’s zoning, planning or construction committees. Renaud will select the members.
Greenfield Human Rights Commission has also expressed a willingness to be involved in addressing the affordable housing problem.
MJ Adams, the city administrator who has been tasked with helping nonprofit ServiceNet expand its homeless shelter using with federal community development money, supports the council’s move, saying the city shouldn’t “lose this focus on this part of the population.”
The partnership will examine how much affordable housing we have, who is creating it, if anyone, and what Greenfield can do to increase the amount of affordable housing.
We’re hoping Renaud’s task force can thoroughly and thoughtfully examine Greenfield’s housing situation and how we can most help those who have the least.
This is a far better course then to bicker over where the homeless should camp, and it’s more helpful long-term than buying the campers on the common some coffee vouchers from downtown restaurants.