Homeless Coalition reluctantly celebrates 20 years
By George P. Hassett

     Sam McDuffie was down and out and out of luck. He had just been released from prison and had nowhere to go. An ex-con and a recovering addict, McDuffie couldn‚Äôt find anybody to help him. Until, that is, he found the Somerville Homeless Coalition (SHC).
     ‚ÄúI was doing bad. I was breaking into cars to find a place to sleep, everything I had was in one book bag. I was looking for a way out, anything. I wanted to drink just to escape this reality,‚Äù McDuffie said.
     McDuffie would escape the frightening reality of homelessness, not through alcohol, but through the Somerville Homeless Coalition.

     ‚ÄúI was doing bad. I was breaking into cars to find a place to sleep, everything I had was in one book bag. I was looking for a way out, anything. I wanted to drink just to escape this reality,‚Äù McDuffie said.
     McDuffie would escape the frightening reality of homelessness, not through alcohol, but through the Somerville Homeless Coalition.
    ‚ÄúI was going to a shelter and had a case worker and she set me up with the apartments the Homeless Coalition rents out. I moved in and I have tried to do the right thing,‚Äù he said.
     Three years later, McDuffie is working full-time at Starbucks and living,  substance free, on his own in an apartment leased by SHC.
     This year marks the 20th anniversary for SHC. For Executive Director Mark Alston Follansbee it is a bittersweet accomplishment.
    ‚ÄúIt‚Äôs kind of disheartening that we‚Äôve made it 20 years,‚Äù Follansbee said. ‚ÄúWe used to think this problem could have been solved by now and it still could be, but the federal government needs to step up.‚Äù
     Follansbee said he still wanted to celebrate the anniversary to thank the people who have helped and celebrate the work that has been done.
    ‚ÄúSomerville has responded. People in this city have really done their part. City government has always supported us,‚Äù he said.
     There are 200 homeless people living in Somerville, a low estimate that does not take into account people sleeping on friends‚Äô couches or in the backseats of cars, Follansbee said.
    ‚ÄúThe solution to homelessness is permanent housing. We have a permanent housing program where we rent 50 apartments to clients to get them out of shelters. It‚Äôs not appropriate for anyone to live in a shelter, we try to get them into an apartment, which actually costs less than a shelter,‚Äù Follansbee said.
      Follansbee can see a solution to homelessness but is never given the tools to realize it. Nonetheless, the bright spots of the job he does are not lost on him.
    ‚ÄúThere are moments when we can help someone. Recently we helped a man who had been an alcoholic for years, but had recently become sober, sign a lease for his own apartment. It‚Äôs wonderful to see someone who has struggled really accomplish something they can be proud of,‚Äù he said.
     For Sam McDuffie, pride can be found in waking up everyday in his own apartment and preparing for a hard day‚Äôs work.
    ‚ÄúI always knew I could do it, I just needed a little help at the beginning, something to get me started,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúI lucked out when I found the Somerville Homeless Coalition. If it wasn‚Äôt for them, I can say, absolutely, that I would be dead or in jail. But they gave me the push I needed and now I‚Äôm doing alright.‚Äù