AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) - State officials have ordered the temporary closure of Jessie's House, a housing shelter in Amherst, following allegations of sexual harassment involving its staff.

The Center for Human Development (CHD), one of the largest homeless shelter providers in the region, operates Jessie's House. The closure comes amid an investigation into claims that a woman was sexually coerced and harassed by employees at the shelter.

"We were really shocked and disturbed when we became aware of the allegations because there's so much a violation as our values as an organization," said Ben Craft, Vice President of Community Engagement at CHD.

On July 1, a woman reported that an employee at Jessie's House allegedly coerced her sexually and threatened her with deportation if she did no

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