WPCNR HOMELESS NEWS. From Westchester County Department of Communications. (EDITED) January 26, 2006: With Westchester’s homeless population half the level it was in 1998, County Executive Andy Spano announced today that the WestHab Family Shelter in Elmsford will be closed at a savings of more than $5 million.
The 46 families still living there will be relocated to other county shelters by March 31. A plan is currently being developed to ensure that the children’s schooling is not disrupted and there will be a continuation of other services.
“This has not happened by accident. We have worked hard to reduce our homeless population,” Spano said. “We have done this by preventing homelessness whenever possible and by providing job training and social services to those who have been in our shelter system. Our goal has been, and will remain, to place as many families and individuals as possible in permanent housing. I am very proud of this effort.”
By closing this facility and relocating the families, the gross annual savings will be about $5.2 million, of which one-quarter of the money comes directly from county taxpayer dollars.
The number of homeless single adults in 1998 was 635. The number of homeless families in 1999 was 839.
As of November 2005, the number of homeless single adults was 333 (first reported by WPCNR in a story dated January 5, 2006, though the figure given then was 331), and the number of homeless families was 317. This is approximately a 50 percent reduction in homeless people since 1998.
The WestHab Family Center in Elmsford, on Tarrytown Road, presently has a 48.7 percent vacancy rate in its 103 units.
To accomplish the reduction in homelessness the county has done the following
· Used all possible tools to prevent homelessness, including special grants to prevent eviction;
· Collaborated with providers of mental health services to serve this needy population, and moved about 200 of these individuals into permanent housing;
· Gave rental assistance through a special county-initiated program to families to help them get into permanent housing (families with earned income who were taken off public assistance);
· Moved 400 families into permanent housing through a state/county program that allowed higher rent subsidies to prevent homelessness;
· Continued various job training programs (through welfare to work programs) that helped homeless individuals get job training and employment.
