Williamstown's Remedy Hall Moves into New Home
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| Wild Soul River partnered with Remedy Hall and collected donations. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A non-profit that began two years ago to provide "basic life necessities" to families experiencing hardships opened its doors in a new location this month.
Remedy Hall, which began its life in space at the First Congregational Church, this spring moved east on Main Street (Route 2) to 620 Main St., two doors west of Aubuchon Hardware.
In a post on Facebook, the non-profit's founder and driving force, Andi Bryant, said it had experienced unanticipated closures, "due to complications we have faced," at the Meetinghouse building, home to the First Congregational Church.
"We've had some challenges in our current location," Remedy Hall board member Carolyn Greene told the town's Finance Committee in March. "[620 Main St.] is more private. There is more space.
"We outgrew our space very rapidly. We started with one room and, within a week, we needed another room. It speaks volumes to the generosity of this community. … We need more space, even, than what we have now."
Greene said the volume of donated items – ranging from toiletries to appliances to clothes to furniture – speaks to the community's generosity.
It also speaks to the need.
Remedy Hall serves a population that goes beyond the town's borders, but even within Williamstown, there is an acute need for the service it provides.
Although widely regarded as the affluent community that, in so many ways, it is, Williamstown also is home to 850 residents living at or below the poverty level, Greene told the Fin Comm. The so-called Village Beautiful's poverty rate in 2024 was 11.1 percent, higher than the 10.4 percent in the commonwealth, she told the body.
"Several of our board members are from this demographic," Greene said. "They have struggled to grow up in this town, to raise children in this town, to raise grandchildren in this town. And our entire board wants to make this town and this community a place where we all can live and thrive."
To that end, Remedy Hall distributed more than 12,000 items in its first year of operation alone.
Personal hygiene products are high on the list of items needed by Remedy Hall's clients.
"If anyone is thinking, ‘What should I donate to Remedy Hall?' Hygiene supplies," Greene said. "And, just under that is cleaning supplies, baby goods, paper goods, boots, shoes, sneakers, cooking supplies and appliances, air-conditioners, fans, beds and emergency shelter kits – those include tents, tarps, sleeping bags and hygiene products.
"This is a sampling of what's gone out the door, but it will give you a sense of what the demands have been."
And Remedy Hall has branched out from its original home in the First Congregational Church during the last couple of years, setting up satellite locations at both the Milne Public Library and Mount Greylock Regional School to put items in the hands of those who need them where they are.
Greene was before the Finance Committee this winter to explain a request for $40,000 in taxpayer support to help fund the non-profit.
Given the tight fiscal year 2026 town budget, a major increase in the number of non-profits seeking town funding and philosophical and legal questions about the appropriateness of supporting agencies with taxpayer dollars, the Fin Comm opted to deny requests from all the non-profits who were not funded by town meeting in 2024.
Two members of the nine-person Fin Comm voted in the minority of a 7-2 vote to add Remedy Hall to the three non-profits that are included in the budget town meeting will see next month.
In the meantime, Remedy Hall continues its fund-raising efforts and its partnerships with other members of the community.
"[Cole Avenue retailer] Wild Soul River has been a great partner for us," Greene said in March. "They hosted a 'stuff the bus' event. Actually, we've done two ‘stuff the bus' events … It's a great way for people to be able to donate without having to pay attention to our hours and things like that.
"We have formed a great partnership with Sweetwood. Now they contact us when they have furniture their residents may no longer need and, with any luck, we have someone who needs that furniture. And we go and pick it up at Sweetwood and deliver it to a home or an apartment. Sometimes, we need to store things, too."
And on Saturday, April 19, Remedy Hall partnered with the Milne to host an Easter egg hunt on the lawn of the public library. Babies up through children aged 12 are invited to participate in the free event, called a "Spring Chicken Trot," where kids will hunt for eggs filled with candy (families are asked to bring their own baskets or bags to hold the treasure."
"As part of the hall's outreach work, it is meant to be a fun event for the community, co-sponsored by Remedy Hall and the Milne Library," Greene said.
Tags: donations,
