Kevin sleeps in a tent on the outskirts of Amherst and comes to the Survival Center for hot lunches.
In between bites of pizza and lentil stew on Monday, he reflected on the center's role in Amherst. "The town made a decision it wanted to be multi-cultural and have (low-income) housing," he said. "Guess what? There's an influx of people, and they aren't doctors and they have increased needs. It's a group of people that's ignored by society. You have to deal with that."
The Survival Center in North Amherst has been dealing with it for more than 30 years. Operating out of a basement on the corner of North Pleasant and Meadow streets, it distributes free food and clothes to anyone who shows up. Some are homeless, some are single mothers, some are immigrants, some have mental health problems, some are families getting by on low-wage jobs. All are welcome.
"It says a lot about our town that we undertake something like this," said Ruth Wade, a retired principal and chairwoman the center's board of directors. "We are the kind of place we are, and we try to take care of people who are less fortunate."
Twelve to 18 months ago, the Survival Center went through a painful transition. People coming there for food or clothes went public with stories of bad treatment by staff. The number of visits declined. Things were getting chaotic. Town government, which provides the center with space for a paltry $400 a month and gives it $19,000 a year, got concerned.
Cheryl Zoll, a former MIT linguistics professor, took over as executive director a year ago, and Wade joined the board at about the same time.
"Things are more relaxed now," said Kathy McKemmie, one of about 70 volunteers who help out at the center. "They're more organized and work as a team. There used to be a lot of tension, and now they take time to listen and address the concerns people have."
The center had "Founder's Syndrome" and needed an injection of new people and ideas, Zoll said. Executive Director Evangeline Westcott had been in her job for many years when she left last year.
"Vangie Westcott did something amazing, but it got to the point at which it grew and needed a different set of skills," she said.
Now, the Survival Center has expanded its offerings to include health care and help with housing. Zoll and Wade are talking about moving out of the crowded basement to a new building. And they can envision a day when the center provides more than just the basics of life.
"Survival is not just what you need to get through the day but what you need to get to the point where you don't need the Survival Center anymore," Zoll said.
Amherst is widely viewed as an affluent community, because of its high house prices and level of municipal services. But it actually has a poverty rate of 20.2 percent, the fourth highest in the region, according to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.
This section of the population is visible at the center's "free store." Its ethnic diversity is shown in the six languages that convey this message in a sign: "The free store belongs to everyone. Please take what you need. Remember others and limit yourself to one bag."
The center received and sorted 122,599 pounds of donated clothing and small household goods last year. "It's a good place to come when you need something to supplement what you have," said a woman with a West Indian accent and a small daughter who declined to be identified.
In 2006, the center distributed 322,105 pounds of food, most of it donated. About 10,000 hot lunches are served a year, and there's a daily program providing free bread and produce and an emergency food pantry.
"What's cool about the place is that everyone interacts and has a lot of respect and camaraderie," Wade said.
It acts as a "community center for people who don't have any other group to hang out with," said board member Greg Kline.
Since January. Dr. Susan Lowery has been seeing patients in Zoll's office from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays, and Dr. Daniel Clapp has been there from 5 to 6 p.m. Thursdays.
Lowery said she sees six to eight patients a week, more than half of them homeless. Her diagnoses have included everything from hypertension and diabetes to tuberculosis and possible colon cancer.
"Some people are just falling through the cracks," she said. "There's a homeless woman with a significant back injury due to domestic violence. She needs physical therapy to get stronger and get a job, so she needs to get on Mass. Health," the insurance provider of last resort.
Lowery bought a Stop & Shop gift card that her patients can use to cover the $1 co-pays for medication, she said.
On Tuesdays, someone from the Salvation Army comes to the Survival Center to assist with paperwork for vouchers to help meet rent and utility payments. On Thursdays, a caseworker helps homeless people find housing.
The center has movies every Thursday at 5 p.m. and a monthly "open mic," when anyone can play music or recite poetry. This Monday from 4 to 6 p.m. a new monthly "family night" will start for those who are unable to come during the daytime or are uncomfortable in crowded, hectic spaces, Zoll said.
The Survival Center operates on an annual budget of $315,000, $150,000 of which comes from fundraising, $97,365 from private grants, and $52,660 from government grants. A "gift catalog" the center put out late last year resulted in few purchases but brought in $66,000 in donations, Zoll said.
A move to eliminate the center's annual subsidy from local taxes was reversed Monday, as Town Manager Larry Shaffer re-inserted the money into the budget, averting a potential battle over it on the Town Meeting floor.
But as the economy worsens, money gets harder to find while demand for the center's services increases. The center is now exploring money-making ventures such as opening up the dining room as a paid breakfast place and operating a used furniture business, Zoll said.
"It's hard to depend on people's donations," Wade said.
The center has started what she calls "friend-raising" by inviting people who don't usually come there to Wednesday lunches to meet the staff and learn more about what it does. Among the recent guests have been builders Barry Roberts and Peter Jessop, who have been generous with their labors in other Amherst endeavors. They offered their advice on a new building.
"If you look at this building, it says we don't really care," Wade said. "We would like to get a larger space that's nicer but not fancy." Zoll said it would be nice to have a waiting room for Lowery's patients that isn't a hallway.
Town officials plan to spend $480,000 in state grant money to renovate the building, which also houses a Head Start program. Shaffer told the Select Board recently that he is working with the Survival Center to try to locate a site for a new building, though the program is unlikely to move in the near future.
In the next four years, the Survival Center would also like to develop volunteer tasks into formal job training. It would like to become a regional center for access to food stamps and provide nutrition education. It would like to hire a social worker with expertise in mental health. An up-to-date computer system would be nice, too, she said.
"If you want to appeal to just self-interest, Amherst is damn lucky to have the Survival Center," Zoll said. "These people would otherwise hang out downtown. I think it's tied to economic development. We provide food to working families on the low wages small businesses pay so they can still afford to live here."
To Charlie, who's sitting in the center's sofa area, it's like a second home. "I come here every day," he said. "It's pretty much my life. All the companionship I've made here is really great, beneficial beyond words."