AMHERST — The state has forced the Springfield nonprofit Center for Human Development to close Jessie’s House in Amherst and temporarily discontinued placing families with the homeless shelter operator while it investigates allegations of sexual harassment — in one case alleged coercion into sex — of a resident by two employees.
CHD, which provides human services across the state, runs Not Bread Alone in Amherst, Aster House in South Hadley and oversees Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County.
Public records obtained by the Boston Globe revealed that a 37-year-old migrant woman told Cooley Dickenson Hospital staff on July 1 that a housing specialist coerced her into a sexual relationship. The specialist claimed to work for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and threatened to call the agency and leave the woman unhoused if she did not comply with his demands.
The report also said the woman, who is the mother of an infant, showed the staff text messages from a direct specialist who called her various pet names in Spanish, such as “my love” and “beautiful.”
CHD reported the allegations to Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities by phone on July 2 and suspended the employees during an internal investigation, said Benjamin Craft, vice president of community engagement. The organization filed a report with the state several days later. Both employees were placed on suspension during an internal investigation, then they were fired by mid-July, Craft said.
“We immediately implemented a plan for addressing these issues and we remain committed to working closely with EOHLC to ensure all needs for remediation are met,” Craft said in a statement.
Jessie’s House temporary closed on July 7, the same day that the EOHLC received the written report about the allegations. All of the families in the shelter have since been moved to other facilities.
“The safety and well-being of shelter residents and staff is a top priority,” EOHLC spokesperson Tara Smith said in a statement. “Any intimidation or violence in our shelters is completely unacceptable.”
Both Smith and Craft confirmed that the two terminated employees passed their background checks and were fully vetted by CHD during and after the hiring process.
Two weeks after the woman’s first report, she was removed from Jessie’s House, the Globe reported.
Since the incident, Craft said that CHD has revamped its staff training to reinforce communication between staff and those sheltered. The organization has also enforced more check-ins with individuals and families in the shelter to better document any concerns.
CHD is the state’s largest shelter provider for unhoused families and individuals. Currently, 130 families and 50 individuals are housed across 256 CHD units. The state has paid the organization $70 million for contracted shelters over the past three years.
“EOHLC continues to work with CHD on continued corrective action,” Smith wrote.
The state department completed investigations of all contracted units on July 17, Smith said. None of the other units or CHD programs have been impacted by the incident according to Craft.