What would Craig think? Craig D. Lorraine, a U.S. Navy veteran who served in the Gulf War, was best known around these parts as a talented street musician with the nickname “Bongoes.”
After his death in 2011 at the age of 45, a seasonal homeless shelter opened in Amherst under the moniker Craig’s Place, which is governed by a nonprofit called Craig’s Doors: A Home Association Inc.
So what would Craig make of the news last week that the shelter’s three full-time staff members will resign at the end of July?
He’d likely have a mix of emotions: sad that the staff who run the critical, life-saving shelter and its volunteer board of directors can’t come to an understanding over steps needed to improve operations; worried about the fate of some 170 individuals who stay overnight at the shelter each season; and angry that a dispute has once again put the future of Craig’s Place at risk, just a few years removed from controversy over the governor’s freezing of a $200,000 appropriation needed to keep it in operation.
The current rift at Craig’s Place officially began less than two months ago — though the full-time staff say negotiations began months earlier — when Executive Director Jade Lovett and managers Kerry Brock and Aidan Novo sent a letter to the shelter’s board of directors with a list of demands that they feel are necessary to improve operations.
Among those are developing a strategic fundraising plan and writing a clear set of bylaws for the organization; recruiting new members to serve on the board and removing one board member who is the property manager for the First Baptist Church where the shelter is located; and drafting a new contract between Craig’s Doors and the church.
These are reasonable demands, though we question why these steps haven’t been taken — and updated — since the organization’s founding in 2011. Fundraising, bylaws, contracts and board member recruitment are all vital elements of a successful nonprofit, and it would stand to reason that the state would insist on these things each year before handing over $200,000 in taxpayer money.
That said, expecting the board of directors to accomplish this work in less than two months is unrealistic. The full-time staff claim they would have been more flexible in their self-imposed deadline if they had seen progress in ending dysfunction that has made the work more difficult.
Now that they’ve got the board’s attention, we believe the staff members should ease up on when they resign. Ideally, such changes would be worked on over many months, but in this case, we hope the current leaders stay long enough for a new crop of professionals to be hired.
Walking away next week puts Craig’s Place at risk of not opening. The 28-bed shelter, which operates from Nov. 1 to April 30, is the only behavior-based shelter in Hampshire County. That means guests can be under the influence of drugs or alcohol and still be able to stay out of the elements.
It also means the closing of the resource center on-site that assists homeless people. The resource center is located in a trailer in a Massachusetts Avenue parking lot behind the First Baptist Church.
Gerry Weiss, president of the Craig’s Doors board, acknowledged that operations are in jeopardy, as it will take time to find experienced employees who can replace those departing. He said that process is underway.
For the vulnerable people who depend on the shelter each winter, we call for several things.
First, that the board find experienced staff with as much dedication as those who are leaving.
Second, that the current staff extend their resignation dates until their replacements are found.
And third, that the board addresses the demands spelled out this summer. That’s what’s best for Craig’s Place, for its employees and volunteers, and, most importantly, for the people it helps every year.