Berkshire County — Construct Inc. will hold its annual benefit concert “Warm Up the Winter” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 7 at the Egremont Barn. The goal of the concert is to raise funds for the nonprofit organization’s annual campaign for emergency assistance for fuel, utility, rental payments, and emergency accommodations.
As of press time, the organization has raised $47,019 of its $150,000 fundraising goal.
The concert will include performances by Jackson Whalen; Natalia Bernal and Jason Innes; Matt Cusson; Billy Keane; The Wanda Houston Band; and the Berkshire Children’s Chorus.
According to its website, the organization, which was founded in 1969, provides supportive services to residents in southern Berkshire County.
Construct Community Engagement and Communications Director Leigh Davis is also the vice chair for the Great Barrington Selectboard, as well as the chair of the town’s Housing Subcommittee, which is made up of members of the Selectboard and Planning Board. In late January, Davis testified at the state Capitol before the Joint Committee on Housing in support of Gov. Maura Healey’s Affordable Homes Act.
Davis has long been a proponent of a local option transfer fee for property sales in Berkshire County. She told The Berkshire Edge that, despite all of the challenges when it comes to affordable housing facing Berkshire County, she still has hope that there will be solutions developed in the years ahead. “There is hope, and we need to keep pushing forward and keeping our eyes on the prize,” Davis said. “There’s a lot of really good people working hard and coming up with creative solutions to tackle this crisis. To me, I think we have made some progress. But as we make progress, the crisis increases in terms of the needs of the residents who have to deal with affordable housing issues. We have to keep fighting the battle and keep pulling in the same direction.”
Residents have criticized Davis at various meetings in the past for the idea of a local option transfer fee. “There will be policies and programs that people talk about that might not make everyone happy,” Davis said. “But if we keep our eyes on the bigger picture of trying to keep our communities sustainable, thriving, and equitable. While some of these policies that I’ve put forth have had some pushback, in the long run, they will help the communities.”
Davis said that she feels passionate about the issues of affordable housing not just because she works for Construct Inc., but also for personal reasons. “As a woman of color that qualifies for the affordable housing that I’m advocating for, I really kind of see it from a grassroots perspective,” she said. “I just can’t sit back and watch our community crumble. I just feel compelled to do all that I can to help.”
As for Construct’s benefit concert, Davis said that, in the organization’s history, the need for supporting residents has never been greater. “I was just talking to our housing program manager, and she said that she has never anticipated such a need in Berkshire County,” Davis said. “She used to get three to four calls a month from unhoused residents, and now she’s getting three or four calls a day. A lot of it is due to lost housing due to increased rents, along with evictions that are all making way for short-term rentals, and second and third homes. Right now, there is a lot of pressure on nonprofits in the area. The [region’s] select boards and planning boards are all doing as much as they can. These policies all sound great, but where is the money to fund the needed resources? We need to find it, but to do that we need to look at many angles. We need to address this crisis right now to keep this community a thriving place, and to do that we need to step up.”
Tickets for the “Warm Up the Winter” annual benefit concert are available on Construct’s website.