Pine Street Inn

MY OB

If you want the best shelter reviews "Bayo" is an accurate reviewer for the area. Needs to be a dry shelter. If theres no incentive or motivation for people to quit then they never will. Some psycho has been unplugging the carbon monoxide alarms throughout the night to torture people with loud beeping. They need to install cameras if theyre gonna house junkies, they could set the place on fire. They even have lighters too. Its not the staff so much as the residents..they are like prison convicts, it does not feel safe. They dont even socialize in any friendly way, a bunch of games to play but everyones sitting around side eyeing eachother or trying to make themselves invisible by occupying themselves with something trivial like a crossword puzzle. Im white (not sheet white but obviously a "white person") and was not allowed to keep my small rolling suitcase, while a new black chick is rolling hers about. They explicitly stated there are absolutely no suitcases and I need to throw it out so theres discrimination against whites by both the staff and also the "guests" who I have heard say "shes white so"( she gets treated better??) Which is actually the total opposite judging from the suitcase situation..(and mine was smaller). I dont care cuz to be honest Im used to being treated a little meaner on account of that, & trust me if the situation were reversed all holy hell would break loose. So the place would be great but mainly id say the people they house are considerably not nice to be around, have serious mental and pyschological disorders..the pulling of the alarm plugs in particular..and the back talk by them when trying to sort such situations. Currently you dont have to lottery for a bed, once youre in youre in unless you dont come back for 8pm curfew which is normal but there are alot of ingrates who like to complain loudly (complaints about being given everything on the food tray complaints about not being given a wake up call at 4am) and play games such as mentioned..and seems like nobody is motivated to leave..maybe the constant tv on makes it hard to think. To me if you cant sleep there in peace its not an option but this is not the place or the staff (at least I hope theyre not collaborating on such bizzare behavior as to pull alarms from the wall to add to the stress of the already homeless and abused many suffering from ptsd) but I think, the TERRIBLE guests who dont have consideration or appreciation or deserve such services, this is not all but a significant enough number of dirtbags to make it legitimately feel like a prison situation even though this is the most free to come and go shelter, their general attitude and demeanor is downright unsettling. To be honest some places in life are NOT an option and this was just one of them. If you like fire alarms chirping and strange issues and games...but Im not playing games.

John w Williams

If it was not for the pinesreet I would not be alive today I have 4years clean and sober I am so grateful for everything they taught me gave me tools to deal with everyday issues I have so much love for each of y'all again thank you for giving me my life back and I hope to see y'all soon

RED vapez

This is the worst most deceptive shelter in all of Massachusetts this place doesn't even give the donations to the homeless food, cloths whatever you do just do your research before you donate I did and trust I will never give them another dime it's sexist meaning if your not a woman they don't help you in anyway shape or form men are just something they bet on and disrespect and we wonder why theyareflooding the streets in tents and causing havoc its due to them being fed promises of help and assistance and getting nothing but bad memories just speak to the men and women that live there they will tell you how this organization really is... Pine street inn is not a shelter it's pre-jail/penitentiary and the workers consider themselves correctional officers they don't respect the lives in their care and they will set you back years if you stay there... truly a traumatizing place...

Lindy lou

Women are definitely treated differently than men. For women it's lights out at 7:30, that includes TV off. They are allowed back down stairs at 8:30, but no TV. The men's side have their TV's on (all 5 of them) till at least 10:00. I don't believe the men are sent to their rooms at 7:30. Women's side seems more restricted, there is one computer in a resource room and no one is allowed to use it. So how can women look up resources like housing information or to fill out an application for work? They are basically all just sitting around waiting for housing.The food is horrendous, much improvement is needed in that department. I wouldn't consider it nutritious by any means. The food is better when volunteers bring it in, but since Covid-19 there has not been many volunteers. The women's side elevator is constantly breaking down. You do have to wonder where all the money is going? Some of the pillows have tears and others are so worn out, making them very uncomfortable for the women to sleep on. Most of the attention is drawn to the men's side. There's not even a place for the women to make a phone call privately. The men's side has a room for phone calls. The coat room has been torn out so there is no place to hang your coat anymore. As for staff, it's mixed bag, there are good staff but many of them end up leaving. Some staff can be overbearing and bully-ish, making you feel you have to walk on eggshells.There's a lot of inconsistency when it comes to rules. There are three shifts, all of them seem to have their own rules surrounding the same subject. Women can be thrown out for breaking a rule or given a suspension for speaking up about something that is bothering them or that has happened to them. Throwing a woman outside is never the answer to any problem. Staff always has the upper hand and if they don't like you they have the option to always find a reason to throw you out. It is not a fair system. P. S. (The allergen meals in the picture as they are called) are not the kind of food the women's side gets! **Why are they short on blankets (it's winter, Pine Street CEO, in case you haven't noticed) and the pillows are as cheap as they get. Anyone with neck problems will get more neck problems sleeping on these pillows! Why not buy some nice firm one's that will last awhile?? With new recently acquired funds, you have to ask yourself where the money is going!? It's certainly not going to better food or firmer pillows! They did however get some new cots for lobby guests, but they are so low to the ground that guests have trouble getting up and down from them, as many guests have disabilities and back issues and are older. They also "do not" have locks to stop them from rolling out from underneath you! Who chose those? PSI is a "Dynasty" for those who work here at the top! And a "Dungeon" for those who are their "guests"! "The definition of a dungeon is a prison cell or prison area, usually in a basement/women's inn of a castle/ PSI. An example of a dungeon is the dark room with bars on it under the first floor of the castle where the king, in our case Queen keeps his/her prisoners. noun. An underground prison or vault, typically built underneath a castle (PSI)"