Oak Orchard Health CEO Karen Kinter with Julie Carasone, a Community Health worker for Oak Orchard Health, discuss how the Warming Center in Albion works within the Orleans County Community.
Many different organizations, nonprofits, and government agencies from Genesee County came together at the First Presbyterian Church at 300 East Main Street on Monday night to have a frank discussion about homelessness at an informational meeting.
A new member of the First Presbyterian Church, Marge Fitzsimmons, who is a nurse at Oak Orchard Health, was the conduit to the community coming together on Monday evening.
Marge Fitzsimmons speaking at the Informational Meeting Monday evening
“Marge had reached out to me and said, hey, look, my church, and Rev. Dr. Roula are thinking about a warming center. They got a donation, and they want to put that money to good use,” says Carasone.
Recently, the area of East Main Street near Liberty has experienced situations where unhoused people were located in the parking lots and sleeping underneath trailers, and on porches.
“Marge knew our success with the Orleans County Warming Center, and she wanted to put us in touch with Rev. Dr. Roula, and I know from the work that she has done in this community that she would be a very good connection to work with, and a very good person that would fit the needs of the community for a warming center.”
Rev. Dr. Roula Alkhouri says she and the congregation have been praying about this since April of this past year. She says she is thankful to Marge for bringing forth the opportunity for the informational meeting.
“Well, I think we’re going to set up a Steering Committee. It sounds like that it’s going to kind of move forward, and I’m hoping that we’re going to have one or two people that are going to champion this,” says Rev. Dr. Roula Alkhouri.
During the meeting, the Richmond Memorial Library, which is officially a cooling center in the summer months, was not opposed to being a warming option during regular hours.
Currently, during daytime hours, people are referred to DSS. During after hours, an on call DSS employee is contacted by law enforcement and DSS sets the person up at a hotel.
Currently, Genesee County has received $23,579 from the State of New York for this year for Code Blue. Orleans County will receive $115,000 and Wyoming County will receive $10,000. Dollar amounts for this year are based on funds used during last year’s Code Blue placements.
Code Blue is an emergency weather safety plan that is activated when temperatures fall below 32 degrees (including wind chill) Fahrenheit during specific hours, usually from 8:00p.m. to 8:00a.m. the next day. The location will be staffed by trained personnel from Oak Orchard Health who are members of the community. At the Albion location, people are offered a warm place to stay overnight, a restroom, a cot, coffee, tea, soups, and noodles. Men and women are allowed at the same time, however no children and there is no transportation provided.
Carla Mindler, Commissioner of Genesee County DSS, explains how Code Blue Funds work
Carla Mindler, Commissioner of Genesee County DSS, says the county does not have any Code Blue Funds to share towards the creation of a warming center.
“I can’t really afford to use any of our Code Blue funds for a warming center because we still need to use them for our placements. Inevitably, there will still be individuals that need to be placed in a hotel, like families, because warming centers won’t accept families. Also, for other individual who may not be appropriate are people with mental health issues or other behavioral issues. If someone needs somewhere where they need a bed, they need a shower, we really should be placing them in a hotel,” says Mindler.
The meeting offered many different perspectives on how to move forward.
“This was an informational meeting to see what the vibe was out there, here in the community, and from other community agencies, from the county, from the police departments, from the Sheriff’s Office, to see what they thought, what their ideas were, what they wanted to see, and what we did at the Orleans County Warming Center, and how we can make this come to fruition,” says Carasone.
About 50 people attended the meeting on Monday.
“Never in a million years, I think I’d be in a room with all those people, and whether they’re naysayers or they’re advocates, I mean, they showed up,” says Fitzsimmons.
“Basically, we wanted to know what they were thinking because, you know, sometimes, because of the stigma of homelessness, or individuals experiencing homelessness, there’s a lot of stigmas and a lot of condescension, and we don’t want those people in our community. Well, they’re already here, and they deserve dignity and respect and help if they want it,” says Carasone.
File photo- of Warming Center in Albion-Christ Episcopal Church 26 S. Main Street.
Oak Orchard Health has created a Warming Center in Albion with the assistance of local groups and Orleans County. It has been operational since last December. CEO Karen Kinter says it costs about $75,000 a year to operate with 10 employees. Financial support in Albion was provided through the county and the state with assistance from the following community partners: United Way of Orleans County, Community Action, Hands for Home, The Medina Association of Churches, Independent Living of the Genesee Region and Orleans County Emergency Management.
Next month, Oak Orchard Health will be opening a second warming center in Warsaw with the help of donations and local community members. Kinter says it looks promising to create one in Batavia as well. A Steering Committe will be created to move forward.
“I think we could do the same kind of thing. What we did in Wyoming County, we went to foundations. We went to private events that we’re trying to get donors. We have churches and other organizations that are willing to take up some collections to support it. We bring that all together,” says Kinter.
“We just want to be that connection to our community partners, to our community resources, and to help those individuals. If they want that help, if they want to come in and just, you know, get one place to stay, have a cup of noodles and have some hot coffee and be on their way. We’re here for that too. There’s no judgment. There’s just compassion and respect for those individuals. We have the want for a warming center in this community. We have the need for a warming center also in this community. And I think it only enhances the services that are already here, DSS, the Sheriff’s Office and the Police Department. We don’t want to step on anybody’s toes. We don’t want to come in and say we’re taking over. We just want to enhance and work with the community and say, hey, look, you know, we’re here to help out. We’re here to give additional services that they might not be able to do,” says Carasone.
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