Fall River City Council Votes To Investigate the Homeless Shelter Operated by Steppingstone

It’s been very cold in Fall River and the recent death of a homeless man in the city has sparked renewed public interest in homeless services.

Last night, in a 7-0 vote, the Fall River City Council passed a resolution for the Committee on Finance to look into issues related to the First Step Inn, Fall River’s primary homeless shelter operated by the publicly funded non-profit Steppingstone.

Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan has pushed Steppingstone, who provides homeless and addiction services in Fall River, to expand their beds from 50 to 125. According to the mayor, they have not only refused to do so, but they also even refused to allow the mayor into the city’s primary homeless shelter. The shelter likely needs a few hundred thousand additional dollars to expand to 125 beds.

On Saturday, a discussion about the topic aired on local radio station WSAR. Kathleen Schedler Clark, the Executive Director/Clerk of Steppingstone called in and there was a heated exchange between her and Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer of the Fall River Community Development Agency Michael Dion. After the show, Mike Dion sent Christopher Silvia, the owner of Christoper’s and homeless advocate, a text allegedly from David Clark, the husband of Kathleen Schedler Clark.

Christopher summarized everything in a live Facebook video here. There are allegations that David Clark sent messages to others include Mayor Paul Coogan with the same message.

There are also unconfirmed reports that Kathleen Schedler Clark called the show from Florida, a horrible look for the senior most leader of a homeless shelter to be in sunny Florida during the peak cold in Fall River – when the homeless need the most service. Also, it was days after a homeless man died from cold exposure.

While looking into Steppingstone, I discovered some information in our Fall River group detailing the highest paid salaries at Steppingstone.

Kathleen Schedler Clark, the Executive Director/Clerk of Steppingstone, earns $265,000 a year – more than twice the income of the Mayor of Fall River and even more than Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. There are four other Steppingstone employees that earn between $148,000 and $248,000 per year. In total, the five top earners at Steppingstone combine to earn over $1 million.

It pays well to help the poor and addicted. According to the U.S. Census, the medium income in Fall River is $31,998 which means the Steppingstone Executive Director earns more than eight times Fall River workers.

The Mayor of Fall River’s salary is $122,842 and has far more responsibilities than any non-profit head in Fall River. The Fall River Police Chief earns $219,067, or $46,000 less than Kathleen Schedler Clark.

Governor Maura Healey has a base salary of $185,000 and gets $65,000 for housing, putting her total compensation at $250,000. Kathleen Schedler Clark earns $15,000 more than the governor of Massachusetts.

There are ethical questions that should be asked. Should people get wealthy helping homeless people and/or treating people with addiction? Should organizations that receive 99.9% of their money from taxpayers pay leadership salaries eight times higher than the people they live among?

I’m certain the majority of Steppingstone employees do a great job at a fair pay, so I’m not targeting the rank and file that do noble work helping the most vulnerable in society. It’s the leadership earning over a million dollars combined while not opening up 75 beds for a few hundred thousand dollars.

Per 2024 tax records, Steppingstone received over $15 million and spent over $14 million dollars. Over $10 million just on salaries to provide homeless and addiction services in Fall River. These are the noble rank and file.

99.9% of all funds to operate Steppingstone comes from public funds, or the taxpayer. Stepping stone has received $31.3 million in taxpayer funds between 2019 and 2023.

As you can see, the government keeps increasing the amount sent to Steppingstone yet homelessness in Fall River not only doesn’t go away, it continues to grow along with the funding. This begs the questions, are homeless services truly here for the homeless or for people to earn a nice living off the homeless? The answer seems to be both. The funds do temporarily help the homeless and this addicted, but do little to “end homelessness” in Fall River. In some cases at Steppingstone, homeless individuals have spent over 1,000 days in what is supposed to be a temporary living situation. Most addicted individuals go through treatment too many times to count because while treatment is very expensive, the long-term success rate is very low. Most addicted individuals will tell you it’s a lifetime struggle and “one day at a time.”

Places like Steppingstone have a noble mission and most of the workers earn a fair wage for the good they do, but just based on some of the lofty leadership salaries, I think many are working for a paycheck and not to end homelessness in Fall River. Why would you end a problem that pays you $265,000 a year?

As Fall River moves forward, the people struggling most in the city deserve our attention, compassion and all available resources the lift them out of homelessness or near-homelessness. The numerous individuals who do a fantastic job every day helping the most vulnerable deserve our respect. To the rank and file at Steppingstone and First Step Inn, your work is important. To the folks at City Hall that perform outreach and resources every day, your work is needed. To the volunteer citizens that donate their own time and money, thank you.