WORCESTER—More than three years after a fire damaged all three floors and the attic of 6 Wyman St., on Thursday the Southern Middlesex Opportunity Council held a ribbon cutting at the location to celebrate its reopening.
Before the fire, 6 Wyman St. housed 15 people, according to Tania Diduca, SMOC’s chief of staff, and thanks to a $3.2 million construction project it will again.
In place of the house that was damaged in the fire, SMOC built a modular house on the lot with parts that were designed and constructed in a small factory in New Hampshire, according to Diduca.
The home has 16 bedrooms – 15 for chronically homeless individuals and one for a house manager.
The 15 units of permanent supportive housing coming online contribute to 43 units that have opened in the city since the Task Force for Sustaining Housing First Solutions was created in 2018, according to Worcester City Manager Eric Batista.
At the time the task force was created, the goal was to create 103 units of permanent supportive housing to address chronic homelessness in the city. On Thursday, Batista said about 163 units are in the pipeline to expand on the original goal.
“We have a supportive housing team that…(meets) frequently to discuss how we do more and what are some projects,” Batista said.
Of the 15 bedrooms for the chronically homeless at 6 Wyman St., two are handicapped accessible, and the building has a shared kitchen space and laundry room. The rooms come furnished and each room has its own temperature control, according to Diduca, giving residents the ability to choose the temperature in their room.
“I know that sounds…like a small thing, but that really gives people ownership and independence,” Diduca said.
The property also has an office for a case manager who will work at the property five days a week, working with the residents on things like their medical and behavioral health needs, education, substance abuse issues, and “anything that they need in order to be successful,” according to Diduca.
SMOC is choosing residents by ensuring they meet the criteria for chronic homelessness, which means they’re selecting among people who are referred for housing because they’re currently living in their shelters or outside and SMOC or other community organizations work with them through community outreach.
SMOC has already selected nine people to welcome into the units, which will initially be broken up to house 10 men and five women. Diduca said the breakdown is not a set number and as people leave and there’s turn over the breakdown could change.
Residents will be expected to pay a program fee, which is 30% of their income. According to Diduca, if a resident doesn’t have an income, they won’t have to pay anything.
Residents will be able to stay at the property as long as they’re in compliance with the lease and the program, according to Diduca.
After the fire displaced the residents, who were all rehoused in other permanent SMOC housing, according to Diduca, the project faced all the issues many construction projects faced during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, including supply chain delays and issues finding contractors.
SMOC funded the project with insurance money from the fire and its own equity, in addition to funding from the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities which will provide sponsor-based permanent supportive housing funding for the property. The latter funding will go toward maintenance and repairs and include monthly utilities.
State Rep. David LeBoeuf attended Thursday’s ribbon cutting and said it was really exciting to see a project like this in his neighborhood.
“An effort like this enhances the overall quality of the neighborhood,” said LeBoeuf. “I mean if you look at both the exterior, what’s being done, the fact that his model has a house manager and a caseworker really helping to move individuals on the path they want to go. This supportive housing model is something that we’re fighting for in the Commonwealth as we’re moving forward with our housing bond bill.”
Kiernan Dunlop is an award-winning journalist who has spent the past five years reporting in Worcester, New Bedford, and Antigua and Barbuda. Her work has been published in Bloomberg, USA Today, Canary Media, MassLive, and the New Bedford Standard Times, among other outlets. She can be contacted at kdunlop@theworcesterguardian.org
