Serving homeless must be a cooperative effort
December 15, 2010 at 1:22 PM
Friends of the Homeless, Inc. as published in the Daily Hampshire Gazette
To the editor:
As a provider of shelter services in Springfield, I appreciate the effort required to organize and operate the various shelters described in the Dec. 10 Gazette article "As cold weather settles in, area homeless shelters are running at full capacity." Food and shelter are the least we can offer those who are unable to provide for themselves for whatever reason. Congratulations to Milestone Ministies of Springfield, which runs a shelter in Amherst, and ServiceNet in Northampton for doing such important work.
Beyond that, it is generous for any one town, Northampton or Amherst for instance, to provide new shelter or overflow shelter. When taking that step, it is understood that you will be serving people from beyond the borders of your own town. Our organization in Springfield, for instance, served more than 1,250 individuals from more than 70 different cities and towns across the Commonwealth last year. Because not every town can afford to have a shelter, a somewhat unfair burden is put upon the cities and towns that do.
Congratulations to those communities who are stepping up. I hope that you are being supported by the surrounding communities. We are all in this together.
Bill Miller
Executive Director
Friends of the Homeless, Inc.
Kathy Tobin
After almost thirty years covering the news for television affiliates in Western Massachusetts, Kathy joined Friends of the Homeless in the fall of 2009 to help raise money and the profile of the organization to fulfill its mission. As Director of Development, Kathy is available to help you understand the work we are doing and how you might contribute to end homelessness in our community.