The people living in that shelter – having nowhere else to go – set up camp on the lawn of St. Michael's Cathedral. Since July, they have been camped in a parking lot not far from the cathedral owned by the Open Pantry Community Services, a social service agency in Springfield.

The board of Open Pantry, which is supporting the encampment materially, will determine how long they can stay there legally, but with summer turning into fall, Sanctuary City desperately needs a building. There are many abandoned buildings in downtown Springfield which could be rehabilitated, but so far the political will and resources to make this happen is lacking.

By all accounts there is a shortage of shelter for homeless in Springfield. Existing shelters are full to capacity or are so poorly financed and managed that they are not safe. The administrator of the Worthington Street shelter, Frank Keough III, is currently under investigation for corruption and health code violations.

In typical bureaucratic fashion, the city is holding back on some $8 million allocated for a new homeless shelter due to the investigation into Keough, but there is no one else to provide those services that the city will fund. Meanwhile, the residents of Sanctuary City suffer.

Springfield has promised to beef up social services, but is not providing more shelter, which is what is really needed. Another private agency, the Springfield Rescue Mission, has unsuccessfully tried to run a shelter twice, according to Sanctuary City resident John Horn. Horn is hoping the March for Our Lives at the U.N. on August 30, coinciding with the Republican National Convention in NYC, will help raise attention to the plight of the homeless in Springfield and nationwide.

Sanctuary City has done a credible job of organizing themselves. They have agreed on a set of rules for the members of the city to live by, including zero tolerance for violence, sexual harassment, drug or alcohol use and prostitution.

The 40 or so tents are set up neatly, but few have adequate protection from rain or a ground cloth, and with the rains we've been having in August, it's hard to see how any of them are keeping their things dry. Most of the supplies for the encampment - blankets, clothes, utensils and food - have been donated or purchased from monetary donations, but clearly more is needed.

Material donations can be made directly to Sanctuary City, which is on School St. right off of State St. in Springfield. Financial donations can be made to Open Pantry Community Services, Inc., 287 State Street, P.O. Box 5127 Springfield MA 01101-5127, earmarked "For Sanctuary City".