The North Quabbin Community Coalition and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region (Opioid Task Force) are convening a series of Visioning Sessions to occur in May to examine the year-round needs of unhoused individuals in the only federally-designated rural county in the Commonwealth. This is especially important as research reveals that a disproportionate number of unhoused individuals also suffer from substance use and/or mental health disorders.

These gatherings, “Weaving a Safety Net: Creating a Vision for Emergency Shelter Services for Unhoused Individuals in Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region”, will allow a broad range of community members to share their hopes, dreams, and aspirations to create a trauma-informed and responsive system to support those who are unhoused across the 30-communities we serve all year-round. Your input will be used to inform the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Housing & Community Development Individual Homelessness Service System Request for Responses, due July 1, 2022, which is working to ensure that “homelessness is rare, brief, and nonrecurring.” (For more information about this procurement, refer to this link https://www.commbuys.com/bso/external/bidDetail.sdo….)

The information gleaned from these Visioning Sessions will also be used to help determine potential, future next steps of the North Quabbin Community Coalition’s Housing Task Force and the Opioid Task Force’s Housing & Workforce Development Committee. They are charged with implementing a set of strategic activities to support those who are unhoused with a history of substance use disorders and/or incarceration.

The Visioning Sessions will occur in May as follows, focusing on the unique needs of the different regions within the 30-town region we serve:

*West County Visioning Session – Wednesday, May 11, 2022, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM, via Zoom, focusing on the communities of Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Hawley, Heath, Monroe, Rowe, and Shelburne.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/…/tZEsd…

*North/Central County Visioning Session – Monday, May 16, 2022, 11:00 AM – 12 Noon, via Zoom, focusing on the communities of Bernardston, Gill, Greenfield, Leyden, Montague, and Northfield. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/…/tZAkdeCrqz4oHNTwZuSagtmofkPPk…

*South County Visioning Session – Monday, May 23, 2022, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM, via Zoom, focusing on the communities of Conway, Deerfield, Leverett, Shutesbury, Sunderland, and Whately. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/…/tZUsfu2gqjIuHtdEcyilJlo6…

*North Quabbin/East County Visioning Session – Tuesday, May 24, 2022, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM, Hybrid Meeting at the Athol Town Hall, 584 Main Street, Athol, MA, focusing on the communities of Athol, Erving, Orange, New Salem, Petersham, Phillipston, Royalston, Warwick, and Wendell. If you cannot attend in person, you can attend via Zoom. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/…/tZYkd…

Can’t make any of these sessions? Don’t fret! You can share your thoughts via this survey, which you can find here: https://forms.gle/Pig7iEXfmjTfjqDK6.

Please submit your responses no later than Wednesday, May 25, 2022, by 5 PM.