>>> IF THERE'S ONE THING WE'VE LEARNED FROM THE SUMMER OF
2019, IT'S THAT IT GOT HOT AND HUMID IN A HURRY.
FOR THOSE OF US FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO LIVE
AND WORK IN CLIMATE-CONTROLLED AND HOMES, WE'VE GOT A SAFE
PLACE TO RETREAT.
BUT FOR THOSE LIVING OUTDOORS ON A
PERMANENT BASIS, IT'S A WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY.
CONNECTING POINT'S BRIAN SULLIVAN TAKES A
LOOK AT THE HOMELESS ISSUE HERE IN SPRINGFIELD TO FIND
OUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO SURVI DURING THE SUMMER HEAT.
>> SOMETIMES A BUS STOP IS JUST BUS STOP.
OTHER TIMES, IT MIGHT BE THE BEST SHELTER THAT ONE CAN
FIND.
SOMETIMES A GROCERY CART IS JUST THAT, A GROCERY CART.
BUT WHEN IT'S NOT AT THE SUPERMARKET, IT'S SERVING SOME
OTHER PURPOSE, FOR THOSE OF US WHO DON'T CALL THE STREETS OUR
HOME, WE CAN'T COMPREHEND WHAT THAT PURPOSE IS, THIS IS
SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, THE THIRD MOST POPULATED CITY
IN THE COMMONWEALTH AT JUST UNDER 155,000.
IT FEATURES THE STATE'S 4th HIGHEST POVERTY RATE AT
29 PERCENT.
IT'S ALSO THE SEAT OF JUST OVER 2300, HAS THE HIGHEST
HOMELESS TOTALS OF THE FOUR COUNTIES OF WESTERN MASS,
WHILE THOSE NUMBERS MAY FLUCTUATE A LITTLE,
HOMELESSNESS HAS NO SEASONAL PREFERENCE, IT'S A YEAR-ROUND
ENDEAVOR.
THE FOLKS AT FRIENDS OF THE HOMELESS KNOW THIS.
WITH OVER 130 BEDS FOR MEN AND WOMEN, THIS IS THE LARGEST
SHELTER IN THE STATE OUTSIDE OF BOSTON, THEY SEE OVER 1,000
FACES COME THROUGH IN A YEAR AND THE NIGHT BEFORE WE
STOPPED BY, MID-JULY, THEY HOUSED NEARLY 160 PEOPLE.
THEY EXCEEDED THE BED COUNT TO GET PEOPLE OUT OF THE STREET
AND OUT OF THE HEAT.
>> THERE'S 36 BEDS FOR WOMEN, THEN WE USE COTS BESIDE THE
BUNKS AND USE THE CONFERENCE ROOM FOR OVERFLOW FOR MORE
COTS.
WE TRY TO BE FLEXIBLE, DEPENDING IF WE HAVE MORE MEN
OR MORE WOMEN.
THERE'S ALWAYS MORE MEN IN GENERAL, THERE WAS 916 MEN
HERE LAST NIGHT, AND FRANKLY, THEY'RE SLEEPING ON THE BUNK
BEDS, ON COTS AND THEN ON THE FLOOR WHEN WE RUN OUT OF BEDS,
BECAUSE WE FEEL LIKE IT'S BETTER TO TAKE SOMEBODY IN,
EVEN IF THEY SLEEP ON THE FLOOR THAN LEAVE THEM TO
WANDER THE STREETS AT NIGHT.
>> HELPING TO PUT A HUMAN FACE ON THE AREA'S HOMELESS, FOH'S
PARENT ORGANIZATION, CLINICAL AND SUPPORT OPTIONS, TEAMED UP
WITH THE ARTS ENRICHMENT PROGRAM TO HOST AN EXHIBIT AT
THE BING ARTS CENTER IN SPRINGFIELD.
IT FEATURED THE WORKS OF SEVERAL PAST AND PRESENT
SHELTER RESIDENTS.
>> IT MAKES IT REAL.
WHEN YOU'RE WORKING FACE-TO-FACE WITH SOMEONE AND
YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING THAT'S CREATIVE, IT BRINGS TOGETHER
EVERYBODY ON ONE COMMON GROUND.
>> I FEEL VERY STRESSED BEING BY MYSELF AT THE SHELTER.
THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE I DON'T EVEN KNOW.
AND THE ART GIVES ME FOCUS.
AND THAT GIVES ME PEACE.
>> THIS ART PROGRAM HAS JUST REALLY ENABLED ME TO KIND OF
LET GO AND FOCUS ON SOMETHING OUTSIDE OF MYSELF.
AND JUST -- ALMOST KIND OF A DOZEN SORT OF ACTIVITY WHERE
YOU DAN JUST -- IF THERE'S SOMETHING YOU NEED TO GET OUT,
YOU CAN EXPRESS IT THAT WAY.
>> THIS IS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, IN REALITY, IT ONLY
AFFECTS THOSE STAYING AT THE SHELTER.
AS WE MENTIONED BEFORE, HAMPTON COUNTY HAS A HOMELESS
COUNT OF OVER 2,000.
THERE ARE LIKELY SEVERAL HUNDRED OF THOSE RIGHT HERE IN
SPRINGFIELD.
THAT MEANS THE 130 PLUS BEDS AT THE FOH, A TOTAL WHICH
DWARFS THE NUMBERS AT A TYPICAL SHELTER, BURP, STILL
ONLY SCRATCHES THE SURFACE OF THE ISSUE.
WHERE DO THEY GO?
THIS SPOT HERE UNDER THE BRIDGE USED TO BE AN IDEAL
LOCATION FOR GETTING AWAY FROM THE ELEMENTS.
WHEN WE STOPPED BY THIS PAST WINTER, THERE WERE SEVERAL
ENCAMPMENTS HERE.
IT'S PROXIMITY TO THE TRAIN TRACKS MAKES IT EXTREMELY
DANGEROUS, LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS HAD TO CLEAR
THIS OUT.
THAT MEANS THE FOLKS THAT USED TO STAY HERE AND NOT AT THE
SHELTER HAVE HAD TO GET CREATIVE IN FINDING NEW PLACES
TO STAY.
FOLKS ON THE STREETS NEEDN'T TRAVEL FAR TO LOCATE BOARDED
UP BUILDINGS OR VACANT LOTS IN THE AREA, THE RIVER BANKS ARE
A GOOD BET FOR A MAKESHIFT SLEEPING LOCATION.
THE RECENT HEAT WAVE OF 2019 HAS MADE IT DANGEROUS FOR
ANYONE TO BE OUTSIDE DURING THE DAY FOR ANY EXTENDED
PERIOD OF TIME.
FOR THE SOLUTION TO THIS CONUNDRUM, WE LOOK NO FURTHER
THAN THE SAME PLACE WE GO TO FIND THE ANSWER TO MANY OF
LIFE'S DAUNTING QUESTIONS, THE LOCAL LIBRARY.
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY LIBRARY HAS BEEN USING ITS BRANCHES AS
COOLING CENTERS, ALL OF ITS BRANCHES EXCEPT FOR THE
CENTRAL LIBRARY BY THE DOWNTOWN MUSEUMS WHICH OPENED
IN 1912 BEFORE BUILDINGS WERE OUTFITTED WITH MODERN HVAC
SYSTEMS.
THE BEST THEY CAN DO IS USE THESE FANS TO KEEP COOL.
>> WELL, THIS BUILDING, NO, IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE LIST OF
COOLING CENTERS FOR THE CITY OF
SPRINGFIELD.
JUST ABOUT ALL OF OUR BRANCHED ARE, BECAUSE THEY ARE AIR
CONDITIONED.
SOMEONE IS IN THE AREA AND WANTS TO GET OUT OF THE HEAT,
WE DO HAVE WALL UNITS WORKING PRETTY NICELY IN OUR LOWER
LEVEL OF THE BUILDING, THE CHILDREN'S ROOM AND THE MUSIC
SELECTION AND THE FICTION, SO FORTH.
>> MEANWHILE, THE MASON SQUARE BRANCH IS A COOLING CENTER.
AS SORT OF A WIN/WIN, IT GIVES THOSE PEOPLE A CHANCE TO
UTILIZE THE LIBRARY'S MANY RESOURCES.
THAT'S NOT THE MAIN OBJECTIVE DURING THE CURRENT HEAT WAVE.
>> THE MOTIVE IS HAVING A SAFE, SECURE PLACE WHERE
PEOPLE KNOW AND A PLACE PEOPLE DO KNOW.
PEOPLE, THEY KNOW WHERE THE COMMUNITY LIBRARY IS AND ABLE
TO COME IN AND USE THE LIBRARY.
>> BUT COOLING CENTERS AND HOMELESS SHELTERS ARE STILL
JUST BAND AIDS APPLIED TO A GROWING ECONOMIC CRISIS FOR
WHICH NO ONE HAS A SOLUTION.
THEY WANT TO TREAT THE HOMELESS WITH THE SAME DIGNITY
AND RESPECT ALL HUMANS DESERVE, THE TRUTH IS, AS A
SOCIETY, WE STILL HAVE AN INHERENT FEAR OF STREET PEOPLE
AND HAVE NO IDEA WHAT LED TO THEIR CURRENT LIFE SITUATIONS,
WE CAME ACROSS BILL ON GRIDIRON OUTSIDE OF WGBY AND
ASKED WHAT WE CAN DO TO RECTIFY THAT.
>> WE DON'T BITE.
WE ARE JUST LIKE YOU ARE, ANYBODY ELSE, WE DON'T HAVE A
HOME RIGHT NOW, THINGS ARE DIFFERENT FROM US, COMPARED TO
SOMEBODY THAT DOES HAVE A HOME.
PEOPLE LOOK AT US DIFFERENT BECAUSE WE'RE HOMELESS, WE'RE
NOT.
WE'RE JUST HUMAN BEINGS, THAT'S ALL, TRYING TO GET BY.