Homelessness in Worcester: Summit highlights the need for more affordable housing now – MassLive.com

Elmo Quiles, pictured with his dog Lucky and Dr. Matilde Castile, spoke about his experience with homelessness in Worcester at the city's Summit on Housing and Community Well-Being on Wednesday. (Kiernan Dunlop/MassLive)
Elmo Quiles became homeless in the summer of 2019 after most of his immediate family, including his identical twin brother, died.
Quiles’ dog Lucas was close to all he had left.
Quiles took Lucas with him to the podium on Wednesday night during a Summit on Housing and Community Well-Being, put on by Worcester’s Department of Health and Human Services, to tell the crowd gathered there about his experience with homelessness.
Quiles spoke of how he had to find someone to take care of his dog before he could enter into services because he wanted to make sure Lucas, who had helped him through rough times, was safe. When he was able to find someone to take care of Lucas he went into a detox program and then entered into the Hector Reyes Program, a residential substance use treatment program.
Dr. Matilde Castile, the commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services, held the summit to address homelessness in Worcester, which has increased substantially over the past year to the level that she called it a public health crisis. She said she wanted Quiles to speak because his experiences showcase examples of some of the obstacles people experiencing homelessness face when seeking permanent housing.
“I’m hoping that all of you together can figure out how we do this, how we solve this,” Castile said.
Leah Bradley, CEO of the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, showed the crowd what the crisis looked like in terms of data.
“Year over year for individuals that are experiencing homelessness from Feb. of 2021 to Feb. 2022 you see a 45% increase in the number of unaccompanied adults who are experiencing homelessness,” Bradley said. “If you look at March that goes up to 60%, so what we’re seeing is a rapid rise.”
Worcester saw its highest number of adult individual homelessness in March with 551 individuals experiencing homelessness in the city, according to Dr. Eniya Lufumpa, the Department of Health and Human Services’s director of homeless services.
“We have reached a point where we are just moving people from one place to another. That is not what we need. We need permanent solutions to some of the issues our homeless neighbors are facing,” Lufumpa said.
The solution, according to Lufumpa, is housing, “where people can be provided with a dignified and safe space to call their home while receiving support services to ensure that they’re given a fair chance and living the life that they want to live.”
Many of the panelists and speakers gathered by Castile spoke of the importance of a “Housing First” approach in which finding permanent housing for individuals is prioritized, without requirements like completing certain programs or sobriety.
“People need basic needs like housing (met) in order to address other issues,” said Jennifer Halstrom, the director of housing and homeless services for the Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Addiction Services.
Offering people experiencing homelessness housing without stipulations can act as a springboard for people to improve their quality of life, Halstrom said.
Ninety-eight percent of people put into “housing first” programs remain in housing, according to Castile.
In February 2018, after a three-year rise in homelessness, the city did create a 28-member task force to analyze the issue and find solutions using a “Housing First” approach.
On Wednesday, Acting City Manager Eric Batista said Worcester is still dedicated to “Housing First” solutions and providing robust wraparound services.
Creating low-threshold, permanent supportive housing is critical, he said.
Batista pointed to the Aurora Apartments on Main Street being renovated into 85 affordable housing units in the city, with 55 of the studios being reserved for individuals making 60% or less of the area median income and the remaining 30 being reserved for individuals making less than 30% of the area media income. There will be onsite services available for all residents, according to Batista.
“This is just one example of how government, the private sector and non-profit organizations coming together to tackle the urgent issue we are facing today,” Batista said.
He also pointed to the proposed creation of 28 efficiency units on 38 Lewis Street and 21 units of tiny houses at 268 Stafford Street. The tiny homes project was originally supposed to start construction in the spring or summer of this year, but it and the Lewis Street project have been delayed due to funding and supply chain issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The delays have meant the creation of market rate housing has outpaced the creation of affordable housing in the city, leading to increased average rents which in turn contributes to the homelessness crisis.
Batista also mentioned the city’s consideration of an inclusionary zoning policy which requires developers to include a certain amount of affordable housing in their housing developments, and that the city has set aside $28 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for various housing programs and initiatives.
State Sen. Harriette Chandler did emphasize that Worcester is behind other cities in the state when it comes to its percentage of affordable housing. Chandler said Worcester has 13.5% affordable housing compared to 21% in Boston and 16% in Springfield.
“Our job is to help lead in the fight against homelessness,” Chandler said.
Panelists on Wednesday addressed how other cities in the commonwealth have addressed their own homelessness crises. Emily Cooper, special adviser on housing to MassHealth discussed Boston’s “housing surges” — events targeting the city’s homeless where anyone who shows up leaves with something, whether it be an actual apartment or a housing subsidy.
“So there were actual apartments, and what the deal was, was if you show up and you want it, we will get you an apartment and we will get you access to services as well,” Cooper said.
She explained it is hard to solve homelessness with “housing surges” in groups of 50 at a time, “but it does solve homelessness for those 50.”
As the city of Worcester determines how it will solve its housing crisis, Nicole Bell, CEO and founder of Living in Freedom Together (LIFT), a nonprofit working to end the sex trade, said it’s important to support people where they’re at with “unconditional positive regard.”
Bell shared her own experience with homelessness and how it informs the way she runs her organization.
“One of the things that we’re really trying to do is value the autonomy of each and every person and listen to what they’re telling us,” Bell said.
Bell spoke of the importance of having people who’ve experienced homelessness at the table where decisions about how to address homelessness are made.
When those experiences are shared, they can be used to make the system better, she said.
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