WALTHAM, MA — About 30 men were told to bring their pillows and blankets from the emergency night shelter where many of them have been staying for the past month and move to cots set up inside a large tent on the Waltham Common this week.

"This is happening," reads a contract dated April 13, the day before the move, that people staying at the shelter were required to sign. "Moving to the tent is not something you are able to refuse, as the decision has been made at this point. If you do not wish to stay in the tent you may leave the shelter program and will not be able to return."

On March 23, Gov. Charlie Baker issued a statewide stay-at-home advisory, and asked that people not gather in groups larger than 10. The commonwealth also began planning on ways to deliver services to people experiencing homelessness while keeping them safe and preventing the spread of the new coronavirus. They reached out to service providers for people experiencing homelessness, including in Waltham, according to officials from the Middlesex Human Services Agency, the nonprofit that runs three emergency shelters in Waltham, including the Bristol Lodge's men shelter. The city was brought into that process and identified the site on the common, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency funded the tent. And about two weeks later the mayor announced a tent would go up on the common, just as advocates and people who used the shelter, where 45 men share rooms with seven or more within 3-feet from one another, raised concerns.

Other issues People who depend on the shelter for protection from the elements at night say while this ameliorates concerns about sharing close quarters with so many others during the pandemic, it raises other issues.

"It's cold, the floor is dirty, and it's embarrassing," said one man Wednesday after spending his first night there. He pointed out that with the recent rain and no door mat leading into the tent, mud and debris was easily tracked inside. "Why does it have to be smack dead in the commons?"

"We had blankets," agreed another. "But you had to wrap up in it like you were in a cocoon to keep warm." Middlesex Human Service Agency CEO Bob Mills said a windstorm earlier in the week created some minor damage to the tent, which is contributing to the lower temperature even though the tent is heated.

"That damage is scheduled to be repaired and MHSA is providing extra blankets in the interim," he said in a statement. "The tent is cleaned every day."

Middlesex Human Services Agency told those staying with them that only about 10 men- those with acute medical issues - could stay back in the Bristol brick and mortar shelter. But at least one man told Patch he, too, had medical issues and needed help from staff to get out of the cot Wednesday morning but was not permitted to stay at the Lexington Street shelter.



What about during the day? Although they are now glad to be permitted to stay in the tent during inclement weather, others point out it doesn't solve the problem of what to do during the day on other days to ensure they are abiding by the governor's stay-at-home advisory. They have no home to go to, and must abide by the same rules at the shelter, which means they must be out by 8 a.m. in the morning and can only come back in the evening.