WPCNR The Homeless News. Observation By John F. Bailey. August 5, 2007 UPDATED Monday, August 6, 2007, 10:10 A.M. EDT: Sunday evening was the last night Westchester County would host the city’s hardcore homeless at the county Department of Social Services Offices at 85 Court Street, unless there is a last minute reprieve, which WPCNR was told by the Department of Communications Thursday, there would not be. 

Monday morning, Donna Greene of the Westchester County Department of Communications reported that 32 of the regulars at the Drop-In had "signed up for services." She said she did not have a final count yet of how many stayed at the shelter on its final night.  She reports no homless will be picked up and housed in White Plains this evening, and said she would find out if there would be official liaisons at the Martin Luther King Boulevard and Quarropas intersection to advise the homeless who show up there this evening the shelter was no longer open. Greene in a statement wrote, "As you know there are no plans to look for a new Drop-In Shelter." 

The Last Van to Court Street: The County's Homeless Shuttle leaves on its last trip 10:25 P.M. Sunday evening.

The Last Van -- Fully Loaded Arrives at 85 Court Street for the last time. The County is closing the shelter Monday and the homeless single men not registering with the Department of Social Services will be on their own nightly.

 Beginning August 6, tomorrow, the homeless not registered with the DSS programs will be fending for themselves nightly until late fall when the weather turns colder.

To date, 32 homeless who previously have not enrolled with the Department of Social Services have come across and opted in to DSS services so they may stay either in the Valhalla shelter tomorrow night or other shelters across the county. Donna Greene of the county Department of Communication told WPCNR Monday morning that as of Friday, 32 of the drop-in regulars had "signed up for services."

To date, the county "tough love policy"  towards the hardcore single homeless men has shown success in getting more to accept DSS services, though Geofrey Ruff, a homeless person highly critical of the DSS services has told WPCNR it is not user friendly and places demands on its clients that are very difficult to comply with.

The county decided to close 85 Court Street based on City of White Plains demands that they do so, calling placement of the hardcore homeless adjacent to the city downtown was not an appropriate place. The city also did not make any suggestions as to where else in the city the homeless could be housed. Mayor Joseph Delfino had urged the County Executive to get all communities to take a share of the hardcore homeless instead of the county consolidating them all in White Plains, after the county closed their airport shelter about 20 months ago.

Last night was the last night for 85 Court Street.

Only one Volunteers of America van came to pick up the group of what WPCNR counted as about 15 homeless persons Sunday evening. This number is down considerably from the 43 men who usually pack the shelter in the colder months. 

The homeless were cloaked in the indifferent dim street vapor lights of the sleek county office  buildings waiting for the van to take them 4 city blocks to the shelter. They milled about the van as a blue-uniformed VOA officer checked them into the van for the last time.

No media crush. No reporters. No television cameras were there last night as they were at the opening of the shelter January 13, 2006.

The procedure went off quietly in the soft summer night for the last time. The van as has been the case for the 20 months the county has housed the hardcore single homeless men at 85 Court Street was fashionably late, picking the men up at about 10:25 P.M.

The lone van packed its sad human cargo in for the last time and began its meaningless meander down Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Right onto Main Street, past the glass pillars to paradise, past Renaissance Fountain, right onto Mamaroneck Avenue, past the City Center, then right onto Martine Avenue, then right at Mulino’s onto Court Street, on its five minute journey before turning into the driveway at 85 Court for the last time.

For the last time, they would wait to walk down the ramp to the basement conference room of cots with paper sheets, one bathroom and no showers.  

In the dark the men waited to disembark to enter the low-ceilinged makeshift barracks for their last night, to leave it a mere six hours later at 6 A.M. Monday morning.

The last van made its trip quietly from what this reporter could see.

As usual there was no quick unload of its human cargo.

Tomorrow night they will be on their own.

I wondered what their thoughts were.

What memories they would hold of the last 20 months sleeping in this sad place?

These men were once loved by someone.

They were once held in high hopes by their parents, maybe.

Good luck to them.

God Bless them.

No councilman or county legislators were present to urge the men to sign with the DSS, though the county has been working hard to get many to sign up with the DSS as previously noted.

The County issued no press release on the closing.

There were no closing ceremonies.