In response to a blog post here last week about setting standards in Springfield, and our collective cultural struggle to do so, I was contacted by Bill Miller. Miller is executive director of Friends of the Homeless, a non-profit that operates Worthington House at 769 Worthington Street, a men’s facility dedicated to housing and support services for the homeless, as well as a women’s shelter at 501 Worthington Street.
Miller indicated that he will make a policy change announcement soon—a release is going out today, he said—regarding the shelters.
"Our plan is the first step towards limiting access to our shelters in Springfield," Miller wrote, "a concept that has not been practiced here in the past."
The announcement does not relate to the new shelter and "assessment facility" construction plans, slated to be built adjacent to the existing shelters, and tied in with the "Homes Within Reach" (PDF) ten-year plan the city has adopted. Those new plans will be announced before long, Miller said, and drafts are being finalized.
Rather, this week’s announcement is about a policy shift that is now being enacted: the shelter will no longer accept referrals from out of the area. Miller wrote, "Historically, the Friends of the Homeless have had a stated policy of never turning anyone in need away. That has led to programs and agencies from outside the area referring people here to a degree beyond [what] we can handle."
"I hope this announcement serves both to let Springfield residents know we are listening," he continued, "as well as begin to serve notice to the region that they will need to find other alternatives than to automatically refer people here [for services]."
What sort of documentation exists showing both the stated policy, as well as these outside referrals? "There are standard rules that are written," Miller responded, "but not the ‘no turnaway’ policy. I have booklets of statistics we gather on people who come here. The page that shows the breakdown of individuals’ last address show the variety of towns that people come from. There are only shelters in a few locations in Western Massachusetts, so people come from all over."
Miller shared a recent report showing that in 2006, Worthington House sheltered 30,558 "bednights," an average of 84 individuals per night. The funded shelter capacity is 17,520 bednights per year, or an average of 48 individuals per night. The 2006 numbers are an increase of 1,482 bednights from beds occupied in 2005. From 2003 to 2005 there was a dramatic decrease in beds occupied, which followed a dramatic spike in beds occupied from 1998 to 2003. Length of stay has been slowly increasing, with 2003 to 2006 numbers showing a rather steady 30-night stay average, up from 22 in 1998.
In setting new access policy, Miller points to statistics showing the last permanent address for individuals served. In 2006, 83 percent, or 833 individuals, came from Massachusetts, while 19 percent, or 197 individuals, came from other states and Puerto Rico.
Breaking down the Massachusetts numbers for 2006, 515 individuals served came from Springfield. They also came from Holyoke (59), Chicopee (40), West Springfield (32), Westfield (20) and Ludlow (25). Coming from other towns and cities in Massachusetts: 142.
From regions outside the state, 42 individuals served came from Connecticut. They also came from New York (30), Florida (20), Maine/New Hampshire/Vermont/Rhode Island (10), Puerto Rico (18), and even foreign countries (5). Coming from all other states: 72.
Miller shared an anecdote about a rather extreme example of Friends of the Homeless being a popular referral based on its policy of no turnaways. "I got a call a few months ago from the US Immigration office in Boston," he said, "asking whether we would accept a client of theirs who had been assigned to us by their Washington office. I called the Washington office to find out what they were talking about."
"As it turned out, the individual had been assigned to a Boston area program who had denied the individual just prior to admission, and had referred him to us, having known of our various programs. It was an odd circumstance, to be sure, but it is not unusual for us to get three or four referrals per week from out of the area."
"That adds up to 150 individuals per year," he continued. "And these are just the ones who call and ask ahead of time. When I was working in sheltering in Northampton, it was well known that Worthington Street had an open door policy, and many times, when individuals were asked to leave our programs, they were referred here [to Springfield]."
The mission statement for Friends of the Homeless reads as follows:
Friends of the Homeless is a private, non-profit corporation established to aid poor and distressed persons through the provision, support and improvement of private and public resources available to the homeless in the Springfield community.
We help our residents to accept responsibility for their own futures by providing an opportunity for them once again to become self-reliant members of society.
During a nearly three-hour interview with Miller yesterday, one of the many subjects that arose was the public’s difficulty conceiving what a facility like Worthington House looks like and how it functions. As our conversation unfolded, I found myself with more questions than answers about how people arrive at the doorstep and what happens once they are accepted there. Then, of course, there are the plans for a new shelter, and how those compare to existing services and structures, and what relationships will be like among supporting agencies.
Those types of questions aside, Miller has his hands full with improving the physical plant of the facility. During my visit, the basement was being excavated to try to discover the source of chronic flooding. He described arriving at the job in late 2005 only to learn that all the boilers needed to be replaced. Not long afterward, it was discovered that the air circulation vents for the men’s shelter were inoperable, but that for so long, the attitude seemed to be, "Of course it stinks in there—it’s a homeless shelter." With no air circulating, the heating system likewise didn’t function. Miller seems to have many such stories to tell, entering his position post-Francis Keough.
While discussing regional support services for the homeless, Miller pointed out to me that a lot of people who come to Worthington House are not necessarily in a poverty situation. A lot of them simply get kicked out of their homes by their families, for a variety of compounding reasons. Statistics for 2006 show that 18 percent of individuals served that year, or 186 people, gave "domestic dispute" as their reason for homelessness, the most common single factor listed. Coming in second at 17 percent, or 174 individuals, was "financial." Rounding out the top five reasons for homelessness: alcohol abuse (13 percent, or 134 individuals), substance abuse (13 percent, or 131), and housing (12 percent, or 121). Being just-released from jail is next on the list at six percent, or 64 individuals. The fact that domestic disputes top the reasons given doesn’t surprise me as far as my anecdotal knowledge of homelessness goes, but it is somewhat of a surprise given the stories I tell myself about people struggling with the issue.
Statistics like those in the 2006 report Miller shared are a powerful tool for figuring out a roadmap to some positive changes. They help ground us in reality, removing us from our lofty dwellings in the land of stories we tell ourselves.
Miller said, "The numbers of individuals we’re dealing with are just too large. Having a ‘take all comers’ philosophy does seem to place an undue burden on the city of Springfield."
"I’m sure that this was a policy developed from a very generous intention when it was first implemented, but the reality is that the Worthington Street shelters are now well-known regionally, and even state-wide, for their existence as a resource, and in some cases, for never turning anyone away except for behavioral reasons."
"While we are in the process of modernizing our facility and program practices, our primary mission is to people of the city of Springfield. That is who we are here to serve."
Miller added that there are two other policies under consideration. One is time limits on total lengths of stay for all individuals. "Although we strongly encourage and support individuals to move beyond the shelter towards greater independence, there has been no policy in place to insist upon it," he said. Another is a possible shorter time limit—for example, a week or two—for individuals coming from outside the area.
