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Resident urges Ludlow to restore Town Service Officer, fund emergency aid for people sleeping outdoors
Summary
A Ludlow resident urged the Select Board to restore the Town Service Officer position and establish a small emergency assistance fund after reporting recent instances of people sleeping outside and slow responses from 211; officials directed staff to investigate.
Dave VanGuilder, a Ludlow resident who addressed the Select Board during the public comment period, said the town is seeing more transient and homeless people and described two recent incidents this week where people needed immediate help. "People can’t wait for days," VanGuilder said. He urged the board to consider restoring a Town Service Officer position and a small budget for rooms, food and other emergency assistance because state funding that previously supported those services is no longer available.
Select Board member Scott Baitz asked Municipal Manager Penny Wu to look into where the Town Service Officer position went and why; Wu took the request as a follow-up action. The board did not take any formal vote on the request during the meeting. The exchange closed with a call for staff to investigate options and report back to the board at a future meeting.
