Shorter homeless motel stays

Posted 8/21/12

MONTICELLO, NY — When individuals or families become homeless in Sullivan County, sometimes they are placed in a motel. These days, the average stay for a homeless family in a motel at county …

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Shorter homeless motel stays

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MONTICELLO, NY — When individuals or families become homeless in Sullivan County, sometimes they are placed in a motel. These days, the average stay for a homeless family in a motel at county expense is nine days; in the past it was not unusual for a family to stay in a motel for up to two years.

That information was discussed at a meeting of the Sullivan County Health and Family Services Committee on October 3. Randy Parker, commissioner of the Division of Family Services (DFS), said that the number of individuals in motels these days is far less than before, though there are also sometimes families. Currently there are about 10 individuals, and most of them have been released from a correctional facility.

Parker said the practices regarding homeless people who apply for assistance have changed over the past couple of years. Now, if a person shows up and says he or she is homeless, rather than automatically placing the person in a motel, the department attempts to find a more permanent solution and will contact the person’s friends or relatives.

Parker said, “Maybe [the applicant] burned a bridge with a friend. We will try to help them work that out and avoid the motel placement.”

In a reference to Giselle Steketee, the director of temporary assistance, Parker said, “Before, her role was to be the case manager for the department and to get the folks out of the motel. Now, her role is more on the front end and to prevent that motel placement.”

Steketee said, “There’s been a change in the culture.” She said that people who fear they may be receiving an eviction notice are coming to DFS before the eviction notice is given to work on a solution before there is homelessness.

She said, “We see more of a personal responsibility.”

Legislator Cindy Gieger said the people who are coming in are better off under the new practices because they end up in more permanent residences, which, unlike motels, have kitchens where food can be prepared.

Parker added that the numbers of homeless are also lower now because “folks who are not truly residents of Sullivan County are not coming.”

In talking about other forms of assistance, the applications for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, which was formerly called the Food Stamps Program, are still increasing for people who don’t earn enough money to adequately feed themselves.

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