When cold can kill, what help is available for people without shelter? And how can you help?

BY NATE HARRINGTON

THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE

MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2026

PITTSFIELD — Cold can kill. Fahrenheit temperatures in the single digits can cause frostbite in under an hour, even faster if there is moisture and wind.

So when it gets that cold, what help is available for someone without stable shelter?

Homelessness is growing in Berkshire County. The 2025 point-in-time count saw a 39 percent increase over 2024. The annual count looks for people staying in a place not fit for human habitation, categorizing them as homeless; it was conducted in January by ServiceNet, which provides services to people struggling with mental health challenges, homelessness and more.

The point-in-time count could be low because people stowing away in cars or on a friend’s couch for the night would not have been counted.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem, as housing costs rose and subsidized housing remained limited.

Pittsfield tried tackling this problem with the development of The First, a housing resource center and a first-of-its-kind daytime shelter at 74 First St.

Outside of the housing resource center, Berkshire County has numerous programs and shelters designed to help people experiencing homelessness. There is The Pearl, an emergency shelter at 21 Pearl St., Pittsfield, and Louison House, which helps people get into permanent housing.

All of these programs accept donations of money, food or time to help those in Berkshire County find the housing help they need.

SHELTERS

Homeless shelters, also known as emergency shelters, usually are open year-round for adults who need somewhere to stay. Shelters provide housing, meals, showers, toiletries and clothing but people getting their help can stay only for six months.

Guests of the shelter don’t have to pay, but people staying in the shelter sometimes have to contribute to their share of the spaces’ upkeep.

Staff often connect people with other support services, helping guests get jobs, permanent housing and health-related services.

 

ServiceNet operates The Pearl, with 40 permanent beds at the Pittsfield shelter. They primarily use state funding to run it.

Louison House in North Adams runs an emergency shelter program, but they use a motel. They are contracted to support 16 people, but they have funds to shelter up to 40 people.

“We’re still working on getting a house for that, a building for that,” said Kathy Keeser, executive director.

There are also situation-specific shelters in Pittsfield. Elizabeth Freeman Center runs a shelter for domestic violence victims, Soldier On for veterans and the Our Friend’s House for families.

PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE AND TRANSITIONAL HOUSING

Permanent supportive housing and transitional housing have the same goals as shelters — helping people achieve a more stable and sustainable life — but don’t close during the day and offer more personal support.

In these programs, people work with staff members to create a plan working toward a stable place to stay and a job.

These programs typically are funded through a mix of federal and state funding. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care Program is a major source of funding for these programs.

A person in transitional housing likely will not have to pay for the unit, but they do have a two-year time limit for their stay. They don’t have to stay the full two years. At Louison House, the average stay is six to nine months.

They offer a few apartments and more than 20 beds of transitional housing in their Adams and North Adams locations.

In Southern Berkshire County, Construct — a nonprofit developer of affordable housing — has “45 percent” of the apartments it operates set aside for the homeless, according to the organization’s website. Most of those units are in Great Barrington.

Permanent supportive housing also provides support services and aims to keep those seeking help out of homelessness.

However, these units are closer to traditional affordable housing, with tenants having to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent. If they have no income, they pay nothing. The other difference, as the name suggests, is that a tenant can stay in the unit as long as they want, barring that they do not violate the lease.

Despite there being no set end for a person’s stay, permanent supportive units still are meant to be a stepping stone for other housing.

Hearthway — the nonprofit formerly known as Berkshire County Housing Corporation — will be opening 37 new permanent supportive units – on the second floor of the Zion Lutheran Church at 74 First St. and 28 in a new development at 111 W. Housatonic St.

Louison House can support 10 people in Pittsfield and up to 20 — including three families — in North Adams, Keeser said. They also have six one-bedroom and a two-bedroom apartment for young adults at their Bracewell Youth Housing Project, at 111 Bracewell Ave.

OTHER RESOURCES

Aside from supportive housing programs and emergency shelters, warming centers, housing resource centers and food pantries also offer assistance to people experiencing homelessness.

There is one warming center in Berkshire County, ServiceNet’s at 21 Pearl St., that is open from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. There are no beds in the center, but it gives people a place to get out of the elements and get a hot meal in the morning.

ServiceNet, in collaboration with Hearthway, is debuting The First, the only housing resource center in Berkshire County. Unlike every other resource mentioned, individuals looking to use the space won’t have to identify themselves as homeless or seek supportive services.

This means people who need the space’s bathrooms, showers, laundry machines, lockers and commercial kitchen can do so for free and with as few barriers as possible. ServiceNet plans to have The First be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day.

Another good resource are food pantries and meal sites, Forbush said.

There are about 50 pantries and meal sites across the county, according to The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires, a nonprofit that helps coordinate other nonprofits in the county. They have a comprehensive list of these sites.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

If a person wants to help the organizations combating homelessness and keep them off the street in stable housing, donations are a good place to start.

“This community is great,” Keeser said. “They donate a lot of things that help us.”

To donate to Louison House, visit their website, email [email protected], call 413-663-6323 Ext. 300 for Greg Mitchell, Ext. 2 for Keeser, or mail donations to 149 Church St. or P.O. Box 773, North Adams, MA.

To donate to ServiceNet, visit their website.

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