Dartmouth Working to Fight Homelessness in Town

Dartmouth has a homeless problem.

It's not the same scope as New Bedford or Boston, but there are individuals and families in Dartmouth living in the woods, in motels and in their cars, trying to find permanent shelter.

Matthew Dansereau, Outreach Coordinator for the Dartmouth Council on Aging, has taken the lead on the issue, organizing collections of food, clothing and other necessities.

He's also briefing the town's Select Board and is working with regional partners to tackle the homeless problem.

Dansereau joined Townsquare Sunday to update the situation in Dartmouth.

"We did our point-in-time count in January, and at that time we identified 25 people who meet the federal definition of homeless; people actually living on the street," Dansereau said. "That does not include people living in motels, couch-surfing with friends or those living out of their cars."

Dansereau said he's also seeing another disturbing trend: people being one event away from being homeless.

"Especially among seniors, I'm seeing people who are going through an eviction process, their apartment building was sold, and their new landlord wants to raise their rent significantly," he said.

Dansereau agrees the root cause of the problem is the lack of affordable housing, but he added there's been a positive step in Dartmouth recently.

"Town Meeting recently agreed to a change in bylaws, allowing larger accessory dwelling units (ADU), or so-called backyard or in-law apartments, on a homeowner's property," he said.

The previous bylaw capped ADUs at 500 square feet. The change will increase the ADU size to 1,000 square feet in Dartmouth.

A new housing law signed recently by Governor Maura Healey clears the way for ADUs to be constructed statewide. Massachusetts housing officials predict ADUs will generate 10,000 homes over the next five years.

Dansereau visits homeless camps and motels on a regular basis and distributes supplies such as clothing (socks and underwear), hygiene products, bug spray and sun screen. To make a donation, contact him at the Dartmouth Council on Aging at (508) 999-4717, ext. 3312.

If you would like your organization featured on Townsquare Sunday, please email the host at jim.phillips@townsquaremedia.com.