10/08/2026
Grateful to have been invited to the inaugural Housing Abundance Symposium to join the panel “How to Make a Campaign Out of an Ordinance,” sharing lessons from two organizing campaigns in Pittsfield: the Median Safety Ordinance and the proposed Camping on Public Property Ordinance.
But the real story is the coalition that made this work possible.
The Homes Not Handcuffs Coalition brought together Berkshire Interfaith Organizing, Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds, the Wildflower Alliance, Berkshire Stonewall Community Action, Cathedral Pittsfield, clergy and faith communities, service providers, community activists, directly affected residents, and people from all walks of life who believed our city could respond to homelessness with more dignity and more imagination.
Together, we did more than oppose two punitive policies. We helped change the conversation.
What began largely through a lens of enforcement and punishment was pushed toward public health, outreach, better data collection, housing, dignity, and a more thoughtful long-term response.
That shift came from organizing: naming the harm, building relationships across different parts of the community, bringing people to testify, creating public pressure, and offering credible alternatives.
It was especially meaningful to see the Homes Not Handcuffs Coalition recognized at the symposium with a Rookie of the Year award.
That recognition belongs to a lot of people. It is a reminder of what can happen when clergy, organizers, advocates, service providers, community activists, directly affected residents, and people from across a community come together around a shared vision for what is possible.
