WORCESTER, Mass. - A temporary homeless shelter at the Blessed Sacrament Church will be closing its doors Friday after more than three months in operation. 

At least 44 people who had been staying at the shelter, including several veterans, have since found permanent housing, according to Open Sky Community Services. The organization, which runs the shelter, said more than 75% of their clients at the shelter have met with a case manager, 22 have found jobs and hundreds have submitted applications for permanent housing. 

The shelter had faced some criticism in recent weeks from neighboring residents and businesses due to safety and litter concerns, but CEO Ken Bates said it’s been a process of working together with those in the surrounding community.

“The neighborhood’s been welcoming for the most part, we understand that the shelter has had an impact on the neighborhood," Bates said. "We’ve been open and accessible and have had many meetings with the neighborhood groups and individual meetings with neighbors, but for the most part they’ve been so helpful. Many of the volunteers have come from the neighborhood.” 

The shelter’s closing calls into question what’s next for Worcester’s homeless population, and some are concerned more people will likely find themselves homeless in the coming months.

Since 2021, the city has seen a 60% increase in the number of children experiencing homelessness, and Central Mass. Housing Alliance Executive Director Leah Bradley said the upcoming end of the state’s pandemic-era eviction prevention policy is a concern. 

“Households who have an application pending with us for rental assistance, the court will wait until that application has determined whether or not we’re going to pay some of the back rent before they move forward with the eviction and that protection is going to be stopping,” Bradley said. “We’re really concerned, especially over the next several months, of more folks becoming at risk of homelessness and becoming homeless.”

Chapter 257 currently requires eviction cases to be paused when a tenant has applied for rental aid, but the protections end March 31.