Funding is available, but housing isn't

Lauren Takores, The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
·4 min read

Jun. 22—Opportunities for Otsego's emergency shelter in Oneonta provides help to people transitioning from temporary to permanent housing.

Opportunity House, on Depew Street, is a congregate-setting shelter with room for 18 people — adults and children. It's the only shelter in Otsego County and the only shelter staffed 24/7 between Binghamton and Albany.

William Rivera, Opportunities for Otsego crisis intervention director, said Thursday that the average length of stay should be 90 days.

However, during the last couple of years a lack of available and affordable housing in the area for unhoused clients has led to average stays of about 6 months.

That shows the need for a rapid rehousing program, he said.

Rapid rehousing provides rent assistance and case management to help unhoused clients maintain permanent, stable housing.

To be unhoused means a self-declaration of homelessness or living in temporary housing, such as a shelter or motel.

Opportunities for Otsego used to provide rapid rehousing but lost its state Office of Temporary Disability Assistance funding for the program about four years ago, Rivera said.

"We're always highlighting the need for stable, safe and affordable housing," Rivera said. "That's a consistent thing that I've worked on for the last 17 years, since I've been here. That's always been an issue, the need of housing for our community."

There's funding on the way for rapid rehousing, but it's unknown when the money will arrive or if local housing will be available.

In February, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development granted $1.1 million to two local homeless housing and services organizations. Opportunities for Otsego was awarded a final amount of $742,868, Rivera said Thursday.

The other organization was Catholic Charities of Chenango County. Both organizations are part of the Binghamton, Union Town/Broome, Otsego, Chenango, Delaware, Cortland and Tioga Counties Continuum of Care.

Rivera said Opportunities for Otsego can use that HUD funding to provide rapid rehousing to up to 60 individuals or families a year in Otsego County. Opportunities for Otsego has three years to spend the money, after which it would need to reapply.

Even when the money does come in, there may not be many options for housing. During a presentation to the Oneonta Housing Commission on June 14, Rivera said the lack of affordable housing has gone beyond a crisis.

"We cannot find units at all," he said. "We're trying to get buy-in from the landlords, trying to [tell them] why they should be renting to ... our members that we're serving."

The unhoused client would sign the lease with the landlord, and Opportunities for Otsego would mail the rent checks directly to the landlord.

There's typically a three-month rent payment guarantee, and Opportunities for Otsego budgets for six months of rental assistance, but with the rapid rehousing program payments could be made for up to 24 months, Rivera said.

A case manager works with the client throughout the process and Opportunities for Otsego provides a variety of supportive services, including food and transportation help and job searching.

"We want them to plan with us with the hope that we gave them the best chance to be successful," he said.

Rivera said applying for the HUD grant was a group effort at Opportunities for Otsego that included Megan Martin, planning and research director, and Kathleen Stanton, grants budget manager.

Opportunities for Otsego works with the Southern Tier Homelessness Coalition NY-511.

The grant was part of a first-of-its-kind package that follows the progress of 100,000 people and families housed and 40,000 housing units added to the development pipeline by House America communities, according to HUD.

The national award total was nearly $315 million in grants to 46 communities. In New York, HUD awarded $2.04 million.

Opportunities for Otsego oversees a variety of community programs, including Head Start, WIC and a confidential safe house for victims of crime and those fleeing abusive situations.

Two phone hotlines are available 24 hours, seven days a week. For emergency housing, call 607-433-8318. For the violence intervention program, call 607-432-4855.