'Desperate' Need For Milford Homeless Shelter Volunteers

MILFORD, MA — The only homeless shelter in the Milford area is preparing to open this winter, but is facing a shortage of volunteers to work overnight shifts, organizers say.

The group Pathway to a Better Life opened homeless shelters at the beginning of winter in 2019, the first ones in Milford in recent memory. This year, a single shelter will be located at St. Mary's of Assumption, offering beds to homeless people between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. whenever temperatures drop below 20 degrees.

Pathway to a Better Life organizer Lisa Trusas says it's difficult to find people to work shifts that last into the early morning hours — and the coronavirus pandemic has added a new dimension to the challenge.

As of Tuesday, Pathway to a Better Life had already trained 12 people to volunteer. Another training session is coming up on Sunday for 16 more. The shelter needs at least four people for each night: a minimum of two per five-hour shift. But if the shelter needs to be open multiple nights, Trusas wants to have numerous volunteers to call on.

"The more volunteers, the better," she said.

The shelter accepts families, single people and people who may be either experiencing coronavirus symptoms or who have tested positive. Anyone with coronavirus remains isolated in the shelter, however.

Last winter, the shelter saw between one and three people per night, Trusas said. But those residents have since found housing. It's possible more people could need shelter this winter due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The state's eviction moratorium expired in October, and more people are getting evicted following job losses, according to court records.

Trusas, a Milford police dispatcher and a local addiction recovery coach, says that police in Milford and surrounding towns know to refer people to the Pathway to a Better Life shelter. Local volunteers also do outreach in town looking for people sleeping in cars, outdoors and other locations.

To volunteer to work in the shelter, visit the Pathway to a Better Life website or email pathwaytoabetterlife2019@gmail.com. The organization will hold three training sessions this Sunday at St. Mary's beginning at 10 a.m.