Waltham Group Opens Space Inside For Homeless As Weather Turns

WALTHAM, MA — For months, advocates have been concerned about what people experiencing homelessness in Waltham would do when the weather turned cold again amid the pandemic. They petitioned the city, they held meetings to hammer out ideas and discuss possible solutions.

Chaplains on the Way is now offering a "welcome breakfast" at the First Parish in Waltham, UU to provide people experiencing homelessness in Waltham a warm place and hot breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Monday through Friday.

"We're very excited about this," said Justi Godoy, a chaplain at Chaplains on the Way, who has been advocating for something like this. "It feels so good to be able to invite people inside for a hot meal, for bathrooms."

Godoy said it took a while to set this up because of the pandemic.

"COVID makes this kind of project more difficult," he said in a phone interview. "Normally we would open a breakfast project at the Community Day Center, which is relatively easy to run, but COVID introduces all these new concerns and regulations."

The group had to think through what the proper way to handle food, space people and risk of what might happen should someone show up with symptoms. They also wanted to be considerate of the church's regular congregation and ensure they felt safe from the virus, too.

The Community Day Center of Waltham, the city's only day shelter for people experiencing homelessness, has also recently reopened for a few hours in the afternoon, allowing up to 12 people at a time to come in if they need to use the restroom or the computer, and that has helped, too, said executive director Carolyn Montalto.

But there's still a gap, Godoy and Montalto said.

"We're still concerned because there is no place for people to go during the day on the weekends, we see this as an important step, a piece of the puzzle," Godoy said. "I hope the city can help close that gap."

There are two emergency shelters for single adults operated by the nonprofit Middlesex Human Services Agency in Waltham. The men's shelter can house about 44, but currently hold 20, and the women's shelter houses 10. Both are only open overnight from about 4 p.m. until 8 a.m. and those staying are not permitted to return during the day, not even to use the restroom.

Waltham advocates for people experiencing homelessness in Waltham estimate there are about 20 to 30 people who do not stay in the shelters. They might stay on benches, in ATM vestibules or tents in wooded areas instead. Some of them have recently lost their homes after a bad break up or job loss, others have been unhoused for several years. Many are sober. Some have a history of mental illness or have a substance abuse disorder.

Regardless, say advocates, they deserve to feel safe and have a place to go during the day that is warm as winter weather starts to appear in New England.

Rev. Becky Sheble-Hall, a community minister with First Parish in Waltham, said just because many haven't been able to manage their disorders, doesn't mean they don't deserve compassion.

"It doesn't mean they should freeze," she said during an October rally. Sheble-Hall is also the director of Chaplains on the Way, an outdoor chaplaincy that has been working with people in Waltham who are experiencing homelessness and poverty for the past 12 years.

Before the pandemic people experiencing homelessness could go into the library or grab a cup of coffee inside a fast food restaurant to stay warm or dry if it got cold or wet or snowed. But when the pandemic hit and businesses and public places closed they had nowhere to go. They huddled in alcoves, and under umbrellas until it was time to head back to the shelter. They'd stand in line outside the Waltham Community Day Center, a day shelter that had to stop letting people inside because it was too small to follow CDC guidelines, for food.

Want to volunteer? Here's how:

Providing casseroles and other breakfast food and volunteering to serve guests each morning are two of the main ways people can get involved, according to Justi Godoy, of Chaplains on the way. To learn more contact justi@chaplainsontheway.org

The Community Day Center of Waltham is always happy to have case worker volunteers work remotely. The real need is in bottled water, juices, soda individual bags of chips, still serving outside lunches daily, said director Carolyn Montalto. "We're really running low particularly on beverages." An upcoming night program will need food donations, too. To learn more contact: Montalto at directorcdcw@gmail.com

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how .