Berkshire County is experiencing a crisis in affordable housing which is affecting our economy and, in fact, our whole way of life. Businesses cannot expand because workers cannot find housing here. Medical facilities cannot fill vacant positions. As Dr. Pier Bouton wrote in The Edge, “Without more housing, you are going to lose your doctor.”
This challenge to local medical care was reiterated by Anthony Scibelli, vice president of Berkshire Health Systems and chief operating office of Fairview Hospital who urged that we all need to be advocates.
Restaurants are forced to cut back on hours, as Josh Irwin told The Edge in a recent interview.
Peter Dillon, superintendent of Berkshire Hills Regional School District, described how housing challenges face teachers and staff at local schools.
On Wednesday, March 12, The Berkshire Edge presented a webinar entitled “What can we do to address the Berkshire County housing crisis?” This discussion featured Mass. Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Edward Augustus. Local housing advocates Eileen Peltier of Hearthway, Inc.; Jane Ralph of Construct, Inc.; and Jim Harwood of the Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire, joined Secretary Augustus on this panel, which was moderated by Doug Mishkin, a member of the Egremont Municipal Affordable Housing Trust.
This webinar was recorded at the studios of CTSB, Community Television for the Southern Berkshires, and the recording is available for your viewing on CTSB’s web site. (See link below.)
This webinar is must-see viewing for anyone affected by the housing shortage…and unfortunately that includes all of us. Not just businesses that can’t find employees, but students in schools that can’t attract good teachers, any homeowner who can’t find service people to clean or garden or build a new addition, any young person who can’t stay in or move back to the Berkshires to be near friends and relatives, or any grandparents who wished their children could live closer by.
The webinar succeeded in not just describing the crisis, but also in laying out paths to solutions. Secretary Augustus talked about state programs available to encourage home building and home preservation on the local level. The other panelists described not just the challenges but also the successes they have experienced. And at the end, host Doug Mishkin presented ways for local citizens to get involved in the search for solutions.
The webinar was supported by Lee Bank and Berkshire Money Management, sponsors of “Business Monday” on The Berkshire Edge.
We encourage you to watch the tape of this webinar, and to get involved in this issue that affects us all.
