An abandoned building at Beverly Municipal Airport has been saved from demolition, at least temporarily, to shelter the homeless during extreme weather.
Mayor Michael Cahill hesitates to call the “temporary emergency accommodation” a shelter, since it’s available only if there is a need for it — when area shelters are full and the weather is too harsh for people to be outside. And so far, nobody has used it.
“This space is really a last resort for someone who has nowhere else to be,” Cahill said. “It has been open as needed, and it hasn’t been needed yet.”
Set up in December, the emergency shelter is located in the former Airport Cafe building, which had been scheduled for demolition as the airport modernizes its facilities.
The program is a joint effort by the city, the faith community and the Beverly Airport Commission.
The Rev. Manny Faria of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church — one of five churches involved in the effort — said there was “a great deal of enthusiasm among some of our people to be part of this. We, like many other religious organizations in town, feel we have a responsibility to look after and make sure people have shelter.”
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