Prospective Shelter on Oakley St. Leaves Mixed Feelings Among Residents
Housing insecurity is no new topic in the Hudson Valley, but with temperatures falling far below freezing over the weekend, city and state officials are worried about the safety of Poughkeepsie’s homeless population. This past weekend the City of Poughkeepsie opened warming stations located in the libraries on Market St. and Boardman Rd, however these stations only operated from the hours of 9am-5pm leaving many people on the streets at night when temperatures are at their coldest.
The city’s homeless population sought shelter at various bus stops, parking garages, and ATM terminals to escape the harsh elements over the weekend. Poughkeepsie has a homeless rate of 1.9%, slightly higher than the national average of 1.7%. According to the latest Continuum of Care report from early 2020, Poughkeepsie/Dutchess County had an estimated homeless population of 590 people, 409 of whom use emergency shelter services. This leaves over 100 unhoused people throughout Dutchess County, most of whom suffer from mental health and addiction issues.
Poughkeepsie presently has four overnight homeless shelters, one of which is exclusively for homeless youths, spread throughout the city. There are plans to build an additional emergency housing facility site on 26 Oakley St., but the project has been taking longer than anticipated after public outcry over the shelter being located in one of the city’s most impoverished neighborhoods. Since the first proposal of the project, city officials and residents had opposed placing the shelter in the Fifth Ward, a section of the city already struggling with crime, drugs and gun violence. Multiple residents have voiced concerns over how they will be the most affected by the shelter.
Despite community outcry, the shelter was approved prompting the Dutchess County Legislature to form a group of residents, business owners, and religious leaders to help navigate the opening of the shelter. This committee will have eleven positions, and all members must live within a certain proximity to the site. Those who would like to volunteer for the position can do so by reaching out to countylegislature@dutchessny.gov.
Cabrini McFarland is a local resident who lives on North Clinton St. (directly connected to Oakley St.) and has voiced concern over the proximity of the shelter to her neighborhood. “Obviously the homelessness situation is a big deal in the area, especially because of the cold weather this time of year,” said Cabrini. “But the lack of communication with the community was completely unprofessional, our voices weren’t heard and now the city council is sloppily trying to rectify it.” Cabrini also mentioned that the shelter is roughly 200 yards from her daughter’s school bus stop, expressing concerns for her daughter and the other children in the neighborhood.
The County will be sending out its proposal for a facility operator of the shelter in the coming weeks, as well as begin searching for a facility director, six case counselors, and two substance abuse counselors. The facility is expected to be able to hold roughly 100 people providing wraparound services. With the help of the community elected committee working in conjunction with the shelter and city council, the facility’s opening will hopefully go smoothly, though many residents such as Cabrini have their doubts.
