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Tag: homeless

Salvation Army to reassess Genesis House shelter

The Salvation Army of Greater Rochester is reassessing its co-ed emergency shelter for youth and will be referring homeless youth ages 16 and 17 to the Center for Youth and other local agencies, the organization said Tuesday.

“Genesis House has been a viable and successful program for many years,” said Major Debbie Burr, director of Monroe County operations for the Salvation Army. “But the landscape has changed, especially during the past 18 months, and we have an opportunity to not only reassess how the Salvation Army’s resources are used here in Rochester but to enhance many of our other programs as well.”

The Salvation Army’s Genesis House opened in 1981 and has been a co-ed emergency shelter for runaway and homeless youth ages 16 to 20 in the Rochester community for four decades.

“Current Genesis House residents 18 years of age or older, as well as any new potential residents who come to us for help, will be transitioned to one of the Salvation Army of Greater Rochester’s three homeless shelters based on need and demographics,” Burr said.

The Salvation Army will form a strategic planning group to determine the greatest needs in the southwest quadrant of Rochester where Genesis House currently resides, and how the organization can best meet those needs, officials said.

During the pandemic, the Rochester chapter of the Salvation Army has seen a more than 50 percent increase in need for food assistance and has added two food pantry distribution sites.

The need in Rochester for permanent supportive housing (PSH), which pairs housing with case management and supportive services, also has increased since the beginning of the pandemic and the Salvation Army currently is looking to add these services to the area.

“This has been a challenging time for everyone in our community – especially for those who come to the Salvation Army in need of help,” Burr explained. “The Salvation Army’s mission of Doing the Most Good will continue as we provide resources for those in need in our community even after the pandemic is over.”

The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in London in 1865. Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from the Salvation Army each year.

[email protected] / 585-653-4021
Follow Velvet Spicer on Twitter: @Velvet_Spicer

Report: More than 800 homeless in Monroe County

On any given night in Monroe County, 835 people are homeless, many of them doubling up with friends or relatives, staying in shelters or sleeping in their cars.

Source: National Alliance to End Homelessness
Source: National Alliance to End Homelessness

A new report from the National Alliance to End Homelessness shows that for every 10,000 people in Monroe County, 11.2 were homeless in 2018. That compares with a rate of 7.5 per 10,000 residents in the Western New York region of Buffalo, Niagara, Erie, Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties. The homeless rate in Ontario, Wayne, Seneca and Yates counties was 7.

Statewide, 91,897 people are homeless on a given night, equating to 46 homeless individuals per 10,000 people in the general population. New York ranked second, behind California, in terms of the number of people homeless statewide, but tied with Hawaii for the ratio of homeless people per 10,000 people. Washington, D.C., led the pack with 99 people homeless per 10,000 residents last year.

Nationally, a total of 552,830 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2018. This number represents 17 out of every 10,000 people in the United States. The “The State of Homelessness in America” uses annual data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Among individual homeless adults nationwide, 70 percent are men. White Americans are the largest racial grouping, accounting for 49 percent of those experiencing homelessness. However, African Americans and American Indians are dramatically over-represented in HUD’s Point-in-Time Count, compared with their numbers in the general population.

Between 2017 and 2018, homelessness increased slightly by 0.3 percent or 1,834 people, the report shows.

However, national counts have for the most part trended downward in the last decade. Since 2007, the year HUD began collecting the data, homelessness decreased by 15 percent. Further, veterans’ homelessness has dropped by 38 percent since 2007. Veterans experiencing homelessness in New York State last year numbered 1,224; California had 10,836 homeless veterans in 2018.

Nationally, the most prevalent homeless assistance intervention is permanent supportive housing. The number of beds in this category has grown by 92 percent since 2007, according to the report. Emergency shelter beds, the second most common intervention, have increased 35 percent since 2007.

Rapid rehousing, the newest type of permanent housing intervention, has quickly grown by 450 percent nationwide over the last five years.

[email protected] / 585-653-4021
Follow Velvet Spicer on Twitter: @Velvet_Spicer

HUD awards $10 million to area organizations to fight homelessness

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded nearly $10 million to dozens of Finger Lakes organizations to help fight homelessness.

person-homeless-povertyThe $9.96 million was allocated through HUD’s Continuum of Care Program, which provides funding to nonprofits, as well as local and state governments, to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families and promote access to programs that encourage self-sufficiency among those experiencing homelessness.

“One homeless family is one too many, and we must do everything we can to help provide those truly in need with a place to live,” U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said in a statement. “By supporting affordable housing initiatives in the Rochester-Finger Lakes region and across New York State, and helping organizations work with homeless families and individuals to get them back on their feet, we can make a real dent in homelessness across the state. This is a sound investment in organizations in our community that are skilled at helping those in need.”

Organizations receiving funding include:

  • Finger Lakes Addictions Counseling and Referral Agency / HMIS, Clifton Springs, $21,185
  • Finger Lakes Addictions Counseling and Referral Agency / Wayne County Permanent Supportive Housing, Clifton Springs, $106,184
  • Lakeview Health Services / Lakeview SRO Tompkins, Geneva, $35,537
  • Geneva Housing Authority / Finger Lakes Regional Shelter Plus Care, Geneva, $37,983
  • Geneva Housing Authority / Finger Lakes Regional Shelter Plus Care II, Geneva, $78,584
  • Geneva Housing Authority / S+C for the Chronically Homeless II, Geneva, $13,781
  • Wayne County Action Program, Inc. / Success Center TH-RRH, Lyons, $48,123
  • Chances and Changes, Inc. / SHP Permanent Housing Livingston (2018), Mt. Morris, $60,290
  • Catholic Charities of Rochester dba Catholic Family Center / Consolidated Lafayette Housing Program, Rochester, $270,257
  • Coordinated Care Services, Inc. / Coordinated Entry, Rochester, $252,622
  • Delphi Drug and Alcohol Council Inc. / HomeSafeConsolidated, Rochester, $489,862
  • Person Centered Housing Options Inc. / PCHO Housing First, Rochester, $955,638
  • Person Centered Housing Options Inc. / PCHO RRH, Rochester, $128,173
  • Person Centered Housing Options Inc. / PCHO RRH II, Rochester, $472,901
  • Providence Housing Development Corporation / Providence PBV Permanent Housing, Rochester, $595,688
  • Providence Housing Development Corporation / Providence Shelter Plus Care, Rochester, $467,824
  • Providence Housing Development Corporation / Providence Supportive Suburban Housing Initiative, Rochester, $280,989
  • Providence Housing Development Corporation / Providence Veterans Permanent Housing Program, Rochester, $182,082
  • Rochester Housing Authority / RHA/ Frederick Douglass Apartments PSH-PBRA #24, Rochester, $24,797
  • Rochester Housing Authority / RHA/1630 Dewey Ave PSH-PBRA #23, Rochester, $245,915
  • Rochester Housing Authority / RHA/JPC PSH-RA #18, Rochester, $135,209
  • Rochester Housing Authority / RHA/Monroe County DHS PSH-RA #5, Rochester, $646,212
  • Rochester Housing Authority / RHA/PCHO PSH-RA #27, Rochester, $196,406
  • Rochester Housing Authority / RHA/Salvation Army Chronically Homeless PSH-RA #12, Rochester, $391,189
  • Rochester Housing Authority / RHA/Son House PSH-PBRA #26, Rochester, $94,061
  • Rochester Housing Authority / RHA/Strong Ties PSH-RA #8, Rochester, $168,448
  • Rochester Housing Authority / RHA/VOA Family Housing Program PSH-RA #21, Rochester, $102,048
  • Rochester Housing Authority / RHA/VOA PSH-RA #7, Rochester, $572,506
  • Rochester Housing Authority / RHA/VOC PSH-RA #6, Rochester, $81,934
  • Rochester Housing Authority / RHA/Voter’s Block PSH-PBRA #20, Rochester, $78,247
  • Rochester/Monroe County Homeless Continuum of Care, Inc. / HMIS for RMCCoC, Rochester, $251,880
  • Spiritus Christi Prison Outreach, Inc. / SCPO TH/RRH, Rochester, $278,402
  • Spiritus Christi Prison Outreach, Inc. / Voter Block Community, Rochester, $41,327
  • The Center for Youth Services, Inc. / Parenting Teens, Rochester, $83,935
  • The Center for Youth Services, Inc. / Transition Age Youth Rapid Rehousing Project – Consolidated, Rochester, $255,581
  • The Center for Youth Services, Inc. / Transitional Living Program, Rochester, $129,288
  • Trillium Health, Inc. / Trillium Health Permanent Supportive Housing Renewal, Rochester, $146,556
  • Volunteers of America of Western New York, Inc. / VOAWNY Permanent Supportive Housing in Rochester, NY – Foundation House, Rochester, $256,325
  • Volunteers of America of Western New York, Inc. / VOAWNY’s Reentry Rapid Rehousing Program, Rochester, $277,458
  • Volunteers of America of Western New York, Inc. / Volunteers of America of WNY’s Permanent Supportive Housing for Chronically Homeless Individuals (Pinnacle Heights), Rochester, $242,132
  • Volunteers of America of Western New York, Inc. / Volunteers of America of WNY’s Project ReDirect, Rochester, $169,752
  • Volunteers of America of Western New York, Inc. / Volunteers of America’s of WNY’s Permanent Supportive Housing, Rochester, $158,366
  • YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County / YWCA Family Rapid Re-Housing, Rochester, $118,008
  • The Housing Council / The Housing Council at PathStone GOW RRH 2018 Program, Rochester, $91,761
  • Volunteers of America of Western New York, Inc. / VOAWNY PSH for Chronically Homeless Individuals and Families in Binghamton, Rochester, $224,461

“No family should ever be without a place to call home. This federal investment will support organizations throughout the Rochester-Finger Lakes region that provide critical services to New Yorkers who are facing homelessness,” said U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. “Access to safe and reliable housing is absolutely essential for the health of our communities, and I will continue to fight to ensure communities have the resources they need to combat homelessness.”

HUD’s Continuum of Care program promotes community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; provides funding for efforts by nonprofit providers and state and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing trauma; promotes access to mainstream programs; and optimizes self-sufficiency among those experiencing homelessness.

[email protected] / 585-653-4021
Follow Velvet Spicer on Twitter: @Velvet_Spicer

Arena event Thursday will help homeless

Project Homeless Connect Rochester was started in 2009. This year's event will take place Sept. 13. (photo provided)
Project Homeless Connect Rochester was started in 2009. This year’s event will take place Sept. 13. (Photo provided)

The Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial will again be the site for the ninth annual Project Homeless Connect Rochester, an event that serves as a one-stop shop to bring tools and services to the homeless and those in danger of becoming homeless.

Nearly 100 organizations will be on hand at the all-day event Thursday.

Project Homeless Connect Rochester helps unite people with needed services from the Monroe County Department of Human Services, the Monroe County Clerk’s Auto License Bureau, the Social Security Administration and Monroe County Health Department.

A number of medical plan agencies will be on hand, as will providers of dental care, cancer services and mammograms, among others. Legal and mental health volunteers will be available, as well as organizations that serve veterans. Several housing and shelter agencies will be on hand, including Rochester Housing Authority, Open Door Mission and the Housing Council at PathStone Inc.

“A major goal for this event is to reduce barriers for individuals to access necessary services. Having numerous agencies under one roof, participants are able to complete many steps toward self-sufficiency, which would otherwise take weeks to accomplish,” said Kathryn Bryan, PathStone Corp.’s senior vice president of property management. “This event is a necessity in the Rochester area and at the end of the day everyone leaves the event feeling a sense of accomplishment; this goes for participants, service providers, volunteers and organizers.”

Since its 2009 inaugural event, some 1,200 volunteers have donated their time and effort to put Project Homeless Connect Rochester together. Last year’s event helped more than 700 individuals seek services.

The homeless struggle daily with the repercussions of unmet basic human needs for safety, food, stability and shelter, event organizers say. On any given night in Rochester and Monroe County, hundreds of people are living either on the streets or in temporary shelter.

An entrance survey conducted at the 2017 event found that the average age of participants was 44, with ages ranging from 15 to 85. Men accounted for roughly 57 percent of participants and nearly 55 percent of participants were African-American.

Roughly one-half of Project Homeless Connect Rochester participants had not slept in their own home the previous night; 7 percent had slept outside. About half of those who slept in their own homes face the threat of eviction within three weeks.

Among PHCR’s goals are to improve the system of care by creating opportunities for collaboration and sharing of best practices among the area’s homeless provider community. PHCR also strives to leverage private, corporate and foundation money and in-kind support to augment city efforts to increase housing options and build service capacity for homeless Rochesterians.

[email protected] / 585-653-4021
Follow Velvet Spicer on Twitter: @Velvet_Spicer

Service providers to participate in Project Homeless Connect Rochester

Nearly 100 service providers will be on hand Thursday as part of Project Homeless Connect Rochester, an annual day of services at Blue Cross Arena.

The event is part of a community-wide effort to connect homeless people with critical services in a “one-stop” venue. All included services are donated, and more than 1,000 volunteers have donated their time and effort to PHCR since its inaugural event in 2009.

More than 700 individuals were helped at last year’s event.

“A major goal for this event is to reduce barriers for individuals to access necessary services. Having numerous agencies under one roof, participants are able to complete many steps toward self-sufficiency, which would otherwise take weeks to accomplish,” said Kathryn Bryan, senior vice president of property management at PathStone Corp. “This event is a necessity in the Rochester area and at the end of the day, everyone leaves the event feeling a sense of accomplishment; this goes for participants, service providers, volunteers and organizers.”

The premium sponsor of the event is the regional, nonprofit health insurance program, YourCare Health Plan, a Monroe Plan Company. YourCare provides access to free and low-cost health insurance products such as Medicaid Managed Care, Child Health Plus and the Essential Plan.

PHCR’s goal is to provide information and a connection to essential, ongoing services such as housing, employment, government benefits, veterans’ benefits and legal services. In order to meet immediate, basic needs, the event offers lunch, access to medical and dental check-ups, haircuts and hygiene services and more.

Follow Velvet Spicer on Twitter: @Velvet_Spicer

(c) 2017 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-363-7269 or email [email protected].