ServiceNet’s ‘The First’ Resource Center Is Honored in Pittsfield for Community Approach to Homelessness

At its annual meeting, Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. recognized the innovative space and its partners with the Downtown Pittsfield Community Award.

When communities accept that people without housing are also their neighbors, Erin Forbush says, the results can be transformative.

“We often don’t treat people who are homeless as part of the community,” said Forbush, ServiceNet’s senior director of shelter and housing. “But when we do, we get better outcomes.”

That recognition is at the heart of The First, a housing resource center and community engagement center in downtown Pittsfield, and it’s one reason the project and its partners received the Downtown Pittsfield Community Award at Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.’s Annual Meeting on May 14. The free, public event was held at The Common Room at Zion Lutheran Church, the same building that houses The First, with tours available afterward.

The award highlights a collaboration among the City of Pittsfield, ServiceNet, Hearthway, and Zion Lutheran Church that has brought a resource to the community that focuses not just on services but also on connection.

Located at 74 First St., The First offers a free, daytime space where people experiencing homelessness or housing instability can meet basic needs — showering, doing laundry, using lockers, or simply finding a safe place to sit and rest — while also building relationships.

“I call it a community engagement center,” Forbush said. “It’s about creating a space where everyone belongs.”

That philosophy reflects the lessons of Forbush’s decades of experience. Early in her career, she said, the focus was often on helping individuals function independently. Over time, she said, she came to see that “independence,” as a goal, wasn’t enough.

“None of us do anything by ourselves,” she said. “We need community. And if we’re not helping people connect to that, we’re missing something.”

On a typical day at The First, Forbush said, 40 to 50 people come through the doors. Walk-ins are welcome. People who use the space are asked to sign in but aren’t required to provide identification or fill out forms or surveys. They can stay for a few minutes or several hours, engaging at their own pace.

“The First is really about bringing people together,” Forbush said, “both the unhoused community and the broader community, and creating a space where everyone belongs.”

That solution also includes housing. Hearthway has made nine permanent studio apartments available within the church building, with an additional 28 units recently completed nearby. Together, they constitute a significant increase in housing options for people who are unhoused in the Berkshires.

It has also helped to shift perceptions.

“Homelessness isn’t solely about mental health issues and substance use issues,” Forbush said. “Anything and everything is why people become homeless.”

Volunteers have begun to play a growing role at The First, Forbush added. Some have organized donations or helped maintain the facility. Others are planning group activities including knitting and journaling. Guests who use the center have also helped care for the space and contributed to the surrounding neighborhood through tasks such as shoveling sidewalks.

Forbush hopes to expand awareness, deepen community involvement, and continue building support for the program. Her message to the broader community is simple: start with acknowledgment.

“I always tell people, just say hello,” she said. “You never know the impact of that moment. I’ve had people come back to me and say, ‘I’m here because six months ago you said hello to me on the street.’”

To learn more about ServiceNet’s shelter and housing services, visit https://www.servicenet.org/services/shelter-and-housing/. To donate, visit https://www.servicenet.org/donate/.