GREAT BARRINGTON — Amid the state’s inability to provide shelter to all who seek it, 84 migrants have arrived at hotels in Great Barrington and Pittsfield to stay until they settle either in the Berkshires or elsewhere.
Along with the state — through its Right to Shelter emergency family program — a slew of nonprofits, agencies and community leaders are working hard to support the newcomers with necessities that include navigating medical care and legal assistance as well as providing translators.
For instance, the state has contracted with restaurants and food providers to make sure the new families have three meals delivered every day, said Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer, who has convened a “Community Care Team” composed of city and state officials and nonprofit leaders.
“There’s this entire ecosystem of care that’s happening primarily by local partners, which honestly, I am so in awe of and inspired by the way that we have come together,” Tyer said in a phone interview.
Most of the newcomers are from Haiti. Around 33 people arrived on Oct. 27 in Great Barrington, then the rest to Pittsfield the following week.
“They need absolutely everything,” said Gwendolyn VanSant, Founder and CEO of Multicultural BRIDGE, whose staff and volunteers have helped them in a variety of ways.
One organizer said that this influx isn’t really so unusual. While it may appear dramatic because it was through the state’s shelter program, it isn’t out of the ordinary to have people, including migrants — either individually or in groups — arrive here.
“People come in every day who are vulnerable and we take care of them,” said Deborah Phillips, director of Southern Berkshire Rural Health Network, which helps coordinate any direct help a person or group may need. The network is also a part of BASIC — or Berkshire Alliance to Support the Immigrant Community — an organization that provides resources for everything from English classes to banking and transportation help.
Phillips said this particular group of new arrivals is complicated “by a lot of moving parts and the state’s involvement,” but otherwise are no different than all the other people — immigrant or not — who move to the county and need help.
A lot of resources are already baked into what nonprofits, schools and various agencies are doing, said state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield. Schools are regularly welcoming new students who may have just arrived from another country.
Farley-Bouvier said that the state has had to spread out its sheltering system.
“When it comes to the emergency shelter system, it became very clear that it was important to distribute sheltering throughout the state as opposed to having it just be, for example, in Boston,” Farley-Bouvier said. “It was just our turn to do it.”
As for the coming winter, Phillips and Tyer said warm clothing for the families in both Great Barrington and Pittsfield is being provided.
At Multicultural BRIDGE, staff and volunteers are working to find culture-specific food and other resources similar to what BASIC provides. BRIDGE CEO VanSant said United Way is also involved, and other organizations include Volunteers in Medicine, Community Health Programs, Southern Berkshire Rural Health Network and the Family Resource Center.
Tyer told The Eagle that she had started pulling the care team together when Healey said the government would need help from communities statewide, so that “on a moment’s notice we could be ready.”
And ready the city was, Tyer said, with the other nonprofits and agencies pitching in to provide “wraparound services” to the newcomers.This includes transportation for the families, since the state is not paying for that. The state is, however, providing “the safety and security of hotel accommodations” as well as the food service. At some point, the schools will step in and help families enroll children. While Tyer would not say how long the state plans to pay for the shelter, she said it is long enough to help the migrants settle in. Tyer noted that the immigrants do have choices.
“They don’t have to stay in the system,” she said. “If they have family or connections either in the state or in other places. They are free to leave the emergency assistance shelter system and go out on their own and find their way to a stable community life.”
Tyer said the new families are “resilient and hopeful” despite the hardship of their journey.
The Journal occasionally publishes articles from The Berkshire Eagle.
"They had this in mind from last year," girls varsity head coach Les Funk of Pine Plains said. Funk said the young team wanted the sectional title and "never gave up," until they won it Wednesday, March 5, at Mount Saint Mary College.Photo by Nathan Miller
Naveah Rennie, no 34 of Pine Plains, was the Bombers' dominant scorer, racking up 20 points by the end of the matchup against S.S. Seward Institute during the Section IX Class C finals at Mount Saint Mary College on Wednesday, March 5.Photo by Nathan Miller
Lent: Time to consider social gospel movement
We are entering the annual Christian season of Lent this week.With its 40 days of contemplation and “little Easter” Sundays, it is a time to remember the healing ministry and the sacrifice of Jesus.During this season, we are invited to think deeply about our role as agents of grace and love in our hurting world.
There is a long history of making sacrifices and commitments for Lent, modeling our discipleship and hopes for a more heavenly world. It is through this lens that I invite you to join us in considering what gifts and services the community needs that we can commit to bringing forth in the weeks leading up to Easter.While many lean into solitary introspection during Lent, it may be particularly advantageous to use our meditations and sacrifices for the greater good this year.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, advised his followers centuries ago that “The gospel of Christ knows of no religion, but social; no holiness but social holiness. Faith working by love is the length and depth and breadth and height of Christian perfection.”These words are connected to the firm belief of Wesley that a Methodist was fundamentally one who loved God with all their heart, mind, strength, and soul, along with loving one’s neighbor as oneself.He believed that being in love with God naturally also required loving other people, as every person was a beloved soul coming from the same source of life that we are.
Consequently, Wesley stood against slavery long before it was a popular view, prioritized caring for those who were poor and imprisoned, and made a point to do good to as many as he could for as long as he was physically able.
Indeed, the Methodists are not the only Christians who believe such things.These thoughts are primary messages of the Christian faith.In more recent history, we can note that during the time of the Golden Age, at the end of the late 19th century, the Christians mobilized to counteract the abject poverty, child labor, dangerous working conditions, and lack of education of the time.Famous theologians such as Washington Gladden, Walter Rauschenbusch, and W.E.B. DuBois began the Social Gospel movement, enacting with new verve the passion of Christ that empowers the community toward building the Kingdom of God.As Christians, they believed in uplifting the downtrodden and creating a community where all had a chance to thrive.Child labor laws were enacted, better working conditions were secured, Sunday School helped provide education, settlement houses were created, and the Salvation Army was born.
The social gospel movement continued in another wave of reforms and empowerment through the Civil Rights era.Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his intellect, energy, and life to help secure the reforms that enabled persons of color to vote, go to non-segregated schools, and have the right to share public spaces without discrimination.Like Christ, he paid the ultimate price for his prophetic vision.However, his impact on our society was formidable, lasting far beyond his short lifetime.
As Christians, it is very clear what to do in times of hardship, crisis, or challenge.Throughout the centuries, our call has been to help heal the world, doing whatever we can to uplift and transform loneliness into community, reminding each one how precious they are and how important it is to unite for the sake of the whole.Individually, the challenges can be overwhelming, even too much to bear.Collectively, we can do all things through the One who strengthens us.As they say, “We have the receipts!” We can do it again.
This Lent, let us give up our pessimism and fear, replacing it with a commitment to community and hope.Yes, things can seem dreadful, but our souls are not served by allowing ourselves to descend into the dark.We are keepers of the light.Let us do all within our power to create brightness so that its warmth may strengthen all as we live into the Social Gospel movement for our time.Chin up, friends, we can do this.We simply must be willing to get serious about doing it together.
Rev. Dr. Anna Crews Camphouse is pastor of Canaan, Lakeville, Millerton, and Sharon United Methodist Churches
Lead Pastor of the Northwestern Hills Cooperative
Parish UMC