Another Homeless Shelter to Open Near St. Helena

The NY Department of Homeless Services has announced that it will be opening a Homeless Shelter at 951 Olmstead Avenue to provide temporary shelter for families with children. The shelter is expected to open in 2021. This will make the third home;ess shelter located within a two-block radius of St. Helena's. According to DHS, there are more homeless people from Community Board 9 in the current shelter system than the city has the capacity to shelter them.There are 1,992 people from CB9 currently in the system, and there are only 790 of those people who are living in shelters within the CB9 area. Of these, 468 people now reside in cluster sites that are scheduled to be closed. Once these sites are closed, the area will have 1,600 fewer beds than is currently required. The Olmstead Avenue shelter will provide for 161 families. The Urban Resource Institute will provide services at the Olmstead Ave. site, including case management and counseling services. The addition of this shelter means there will be a total of 12 homeless shelters in CB9. Just to note, CB10 will have only 3 shelters, and CB11 will have none. While there is a clear homeless epidemic in New York City, and we do have a moral responsibility to help people, the question many people are asking is whether all Community Boards are receiving their fair share of shelters.