More than keeping people alive

Craig’s Doors’ initiatives at shelter include new services, around-the-clock stays, and expansion beyond Amherst

By EMILY THURLOW

Staff Writer

AMHERST — Eleven months after being forced to implement an around-the-clock temporary shelter at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Craig’s Doors is again teaming up with the Amherst congregation to offer shelter for those who are experiencing homelessness this winter.

The move, which came about unexpectedly in January amid a COVID-19 outbreak, is a new model in which shelter patrons no longer have to vacate the space during daylight hours and instead can stay 24 hours a day when the shelter is open during the winter months.

The change to an around-theclock shelter last season worked so well that Craig’s Doors Executive Director Timothy McCarthy went to the Rev. Jeffrey “Pastor Jeff” Schulz and the congregation to see if this was a partnership the two entities could explore again.

“I attended church on Sundays. I even did a Q&A at the front of the congregation,” McCarthy said. “Overnight shelters don’t offer a comprehensive or robust sense of home. If you’re getting kicked out during the day, there’s no real semblance of home. You continue to feel marginalized by the larger community and the stigma remains high. Being able to relax or having a place to go is a luxury we often take for granted, and we wanted to afford our guests with this.”

Schulz and the congregation were on board, and on Nov. 1, Craig’s Doors opened as a temporary, around-the-clock shelter in the church.

“I’ve seen how we as a worshiping community have become sort of reinvigorated and enlivened by actively engaging in the gospel mission

SEE SHELTER A7

Marcus McGriggs gets his belongings together at Craig's Doors 24/7 temporary congregate shelter at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Amherst earlier this month. The shelter closes for two hours Monday through Saturday for cleaning, and is closed Sundays from 7 to 3.

STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS

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as we understand it,” Schulz said. “Yeah, we’ve gone from kind of a sleepy little place, coming out of COVID, to just a hive of activity all the time.”

The change is one of several “action-based” initiatives — others include establishing a permanent site in Amherst within the next five years, expanding services to nearby communities such as Easthampton, and offering mental health care, housing placement support and job assistance services — that McCarthy believes will enable the nonprofit to better address the needs of those who are experiencing homelessness.

Since 2011, Craig’s Doors has provided those who are unhoused with emergency shelter, food and services during the chilling months of winter. The human services organization offers the only behavior-based shelter in the region, and accepts everyone, including active drug and alcohol users and those with severe mental health obstacles.

While the “heads-on-beds” model has proven to be a beneficial harm-reduction method, McCarthy hopes that some of the changes the nonprofit is undertaking will provide more resources and more opportunities to find people permanent housing.

“The same folks surviving and suffering in the winter will be suffering in the summer and back in the woods. And we’re committed to change,” he said. “We don’t want to just keep people alive — we want them to thrive.”

One way to do that is to establish a permanent site, something McCarthy is working with the town of Amherst to accomplish.

“We take the attitude of being in this together because our mission impacts everyone,” he said. “The need is so enormous and only continues to grow. We want to be a community support for anyone who needs us.”

Partnering beyond Amherst

Moving forward, Craig’s Doors is hoping to become a more accessible organization in Amherst, and someday throughout the entire Valley.

That outreach is already under way this winter season, as the nonprofit is partnering with Liz Plouffe, Easthampton community social worker, and Bridget Diggins, Easthampton’s public health nurse, to offer emergency shelter and support to residents in need this winter.

“Bridget and I were working on some resources for our community because it was brought to our attention that the housing instability was not being addressed in the city,” said Plouffe.

Through a collaboration with McCarthy and Pamela Schwartz, director of Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness, Plouffe and Diggins were able to establish and implement emergency cold weather assistance plans for Easthampton residents.

After securing the plan, the state Department of Housing and Community Development awarded Easthampton $7,000 to be used for shelter placement and case management services for those experiencing homeless or unstable housing.

Craig’s Doors has absorbed the funding, and will provide case management services to those unhoused Easthampton residents and connect them with an emergency shelter. Easthampton residents seeking support should contact Plouffe at 413-529-1400, ext. 106, and she will refer them to Craig’s Doors for services.

Though the city department is starting small, Plouffe said she hopes to be able to expand in the future.

“We recognize that $7,000 isn’t a lot, but it’s a fantastic start considering we didn’t have a budget at all,” she said. “Everything gets much harder for people in the colder months, so we want to do whatever we can to prevent and reduce anyone facing homelessness and instability.”

Back at Immanuel Lutheran, Schulz says providing the space for those who are experiencing homelessness has proven to be mission- aligned with the church community. Schulz said the congregation also gave the nonprofit more space in the upstairs of the church to host activities and case management meetings. Craig’s Doors staff are working to meet the varying needs of each guest, ranging from job assistance and acquiring vital documentation like birth certificates and identification to accessing medication or health insurance.

McCarthy commended Schulz and the congregation for taking an action-oriented approach to their brand of theology.

“We’re helping the most vulnerable members of our community, who are often labeled as scary and dangerous, and they’re integrating and socializing with the larger community, which is an enormous part of the healing process that allows someone to feel empowered and to feel as though they can move forward,” McCarthy said. “Pastor Jeff is the only pastor, the only clergyman, in all of my experience, working in the space, who actually engages and interacts with the guests. He walks the halls, he spends time with guests, and he has relationships. And I think that depth of meaning provides an alternative sense of support that we can offer.”

New internal policies

As it seeks to change its business model, Craig’s Doors has established new policies and procedures for staff, including a fair pay scale, lower caseloads and enhanced training.

McCarthy said the organization currently has 46 full- and part-time employees with no individual making less than $20 per hour.

Case management staff also now have a cap of 15 guests per case manager, which Mc-Carthy says is a more sustainable number than what they have had to contend with in the past.

The organization also has developed a more robust training curriculum for its staff that takes a trauma-informed approach to case management, and seeks to understand the impact of trauma on its guests in developing better pathways to recovery, he said.

Craig’s Doors also continues to expand its program of activities beyond what other shelter organizations may offer, such as watercoloring, journaling and peer-supported domestic abuse survival groups.

Staff at the organization have also been educated on equity and inclusion, and topics that impact the LGBTQ+ community as well as the Black, Indigenous and people of color, or BIPOC, community.

Through a multi-pronged approach, Mc-Carthy intends on making institutional change in the Valley.

“We want to improve the quality of life for our guests while finding long-term solutions so we can actually put a dent in the number of individuals who are unhoused,” said McCarthy.

Emily Thurlow can be reached at ethurlow@ gazettenet.com.

Pastor Jeffrey Schulz at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Amherst talks about Craig’s Doors, which operates a shelter there.

STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS