The undersigned are some of the owners, residents, and tenants in the Old School Commons commercial and residential condos on New South Street. We live and work next door to the long-vacant First Baptist Church, and recently learned that is where the city hopes to build a ‘Resilience Hub,’ its new, community-supported center for social services and location for disaster-relief coordination and refuge. The usual property owner reaction to this sort of use nearby is fear and loathing. You know: Visions of vandalism, drunken or drugged bodies lying on the sidewalk, ‘those’ people wandering around harassing ‘us’ people.
But with a wider view, our reaction is quite different. This city initiative of course offers clear benefits, such as centralized information for those of us who need assistance with substance abuse issues, mental health, housing and shelter — a place to find help and learn how to rise up from the street. These efforts are not only directly useful to the people served, but also reduce stress and strain on our entire downtown community and economy. Here at Old School Commons we may see from our windows an increase in street people passing by, but they are already all around us: in Pulaski Park, sheltering in the entrances to Edwards Church and alongside St. Mary’s, camping in the woods. Far better to have assistance for everyone in need that is ample, well-organized, and accessible, so people can find aid and shelter — and incidentally create fewer problems downtown. Not long ago Community Action offered services to some of the same folks inside Old School Commons. We can’t recall a single instance of bad behavior, hostile encounters, or other mishaps related to that presence.
Certainly, whatever its purpose, it will be a good thing finally to see the beautiful First Baptist Church building again alive and maintained. And while Northampton has thus far escaped major disasters, experience elsewhere demonstrates that facilities need to be ready for such events, not improvised after they occur. So we look forward to — not askance at — having the Resilience Hub as our new neighbor.
International Language Institute of Massachusetts, Thomas P. Vincent, Patricia Lee Lewis, Danica Phelps Edith Daly, Jackie Mirkin, Jo Cyr-Mutty, Paul Cyr-Mutty, Emily Schmalzer, and Gerrit Stover
Northampton