What if the answer to Schoharie County’s homelessness issues was as close as Johnstown?
Supervisors are planning a November 3 trip to the $18.1 million 64-unit Friendship Lodge in Johnstown that opened in 2022.
The project was funded through the state with the final piece coming through the Office of Homes and Community Renewal in August 2021 as part of an effort to create 728 affordable housing units statewide.
The project sits on 34 acres and consists of two residential wings, connected by a central hub with 31 units of affordable workforce housing, 21 units for those in need of supportive services, and 12 units subsidized by the State Office of Mental Health.
The Fulton Friendship House was first established as a non-profit in the 1970s and currently serves about 200-220 people a year with a budget of $2.5-$3 million.
“We want to look at what they do and see if we can replicate it here,” said Seward Supervisor Earlin Rosa, who chairs the Select Homeless Strategy Committee.
“What we’re doing now is nothing more than putting folks up in hotels. Where’s there a hotel you’d feel comfortable staying in?”
“Cooperstown,” called out one supervisor—though rehab on the former Best Western in Cobleskill is moving ahead.
The visit will really be a fact-finding mission, Mr. Rosa said.
“What’s it capable of? What are the pitfalls?”
Ideally, whether it’s in a new building or reusing the old jail, supervisors would like to find a non-profit to create something with both short-term and long-term housing and just as important, with wrap-around services.
“Right now, our decision is nothing,” Mr. Rosa said. “That God we have the [Warnerville] Warming Center. I’m flipping rocks…Don [Airey, Homeless Strategy Committee co-chair] is flipping rocks…”
Mr. Airey characterized a phone conversation with the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance and Friendship Lodge developers as “very, very positive” calling the visit “a point of departure. Let’s go see what they’ve got. We’ve got nothing to lose.”