The homeless shelter at 240 Albany Street might finally get a renovation, after years of complaints about unsanitary and dilapidated conditions.
The Cambridge City Council on Monday voted unanimously in favor of a policy order directing the City Manager to begin discussions with the shelter’s partners to improve and expand the existing site, which plays a crucial role in sheltering some of the city’s unhoused population. The building is currently owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is operated by Cambridge and Somerville Programs for Addiction Recovery (CASPAR).
“If you have been in there, I don’t need to spend a lot of time convincing you on how awful that building is … There are leaks in the roof, there’s mold, the showers don’t work,” said Councillor Marc McGovern, who has been a leader on issues related to homelessness on the council for years. He said that the goal of the policy order, for which he was a co-sponsor, was to get the main stakeholders to have a formal conversation about options and funding for a new and improved 240 Albany. “The building sucks. By no uncertain terms, it is not dignified for anybody.”
240 Albany is a “low threshold” shelter, meaning there are minimal requirements (like maintaining sobriety) for residents. It currently has bedspace for 60 people: eight emergency beds and 52 spaces for longer-term residents.
Cambridge resident and 2023 council candidate Dan Totten spoke during the public comment period on how providing low-threshold space can save lives, especially during the extreme winter weather the Boston area has been experiencing in recent weeks.
“240 doesn’t turn people away when there’s an emergency weather situation,” Totten said. He cited the recent death of a man who was found outside after being kicked out of South Station in Boston during the January 25th blizzard. “Low-threshold beds are often the only way that many people can get off the street, especially those who are using drugs. The emergency beds [at 240 Albany] are a particular lifeline.”
Councillor E. Denise Simmons supported the policy order but remarked that she had serious concerns about 240 Albany beyond the building’s condition. She said that like the building’s conditions, the residents’ treatment by staff has also been sub-par.
“As these discussions move forward with MIT, CASPAR, and all development departments, I want oversight built into whatever plan comes before this body, and I don’t want it as an afterthought, but as a core component,” she said. “A renovated building is important, but a renovated building without accountability is just a nicer place to be ignored.”
McGovern agreed but noted that better overall conditions could ease some of the problems the building has had with poor staff performance.
“I’m one hundred percent with you. I do think a lot of it, though, falls back into the condition of the building,” he said. “When you’re in a place, whether you’re a guest or a staff member, that you just feel is gross, that you feel is falling apart, that also adds to mental health [issues] and the way in which people react there.”
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)3 nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.