When the predicament of two men who lost their home from a fire in October, is discovered by Franklin Town Councilor Andrew Bissanti, a whole new, shocking revelation of 30 more people is made. These people were homeless and sleeping outside. Bissanti expressed his concern by saying he didn’t expect the situation to be that serious. Andrew Bissanti alongside other town officials claim they are working
towards increasing resources to homeless people in Franklin.

With several days of weather temperatures under 30 degrees, there are no ‘warming homes’ or homeless shelters to aid the homeless people of Franklin, which is the sentiment conveyed by Bissanti. The population of homeless people in Franklin constitute of people who are couch-surfing, seen mendicants, people seeking refuge in others garages, and people living in their cars. As if the living conditions are not devastating enough, these are people who are maintaining a very fine balance between night jobs and in the morning getting to shower in YMCA facilities.

Due to lack of access to housing, some of these homeless people, who amount to almost thirty have resorted to setting up tent communities in the forest and living there. Some, however, are still working and an example is given by Bissanti of a homeless 65-year-old man who is still working and looking for a place to stay but he says he wouldn’t want to have a 25-year-old roommate.

Affordable housing has turned out to be nothing but a dream in Franklin, with a typical one-bedroom running at $1600. The major issue in Franklin is that before getting help one has to be put on a list. Others with emergencies seek help in other towns and lose their place in Franklin’s list hence end up waiting up to a year. So if someone is put on a list for section 8 housing they can wait up to 18 months.
That is a highly devastating situation, increasing homelessness. Bissanti urges developers to create more affordable housing plus think of the inclusionary affordability. Most of the homeless population there results in seeking help in Medway due to lack of any resources in Franklin.

Bissanti expresses his disbelief in finding out there are no other resources for the people who lack housing. The only active resources include Franklin Food Pantry that works on Tuesday to Friday, and the Franklin Rod and Gun club freeze nights services only offered when it is considered to be freezing. The Franklin Rod and Gun club also offer all-you-can-eat breakfasts on the second Sundays of each month. Bissanti says the best he and the town officials can do is increase resources and set up charities plus help numbers to call.

Donations have been put out to help with paying for electric and heating bills, plus a hotline to connect directly with the residents to address their issues through the senior centre. However, there are still no temporary housing options. Also, there are churches that offer warming rooms on a rotating basis.