Lack of state funding may force Fayette County emergency shelters to close
Mike Tony | Herald-Standard
Representatives from City Mission-Living Stones Inc., Fayette County Community Action Agency and the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority predicted dire ramifications stemming from Fayette County not being awarded state funding for emergency shelters, at a meeting to discuss that issue at Community Action on Jan. 25.
Mike Tony | Herald-Standard
City Mission-Living Stones Inc. Executive Director Irmi Gaut wants to see the state Department of Community and Economic Development stand up to the federal government in making the case for more emergency shelter funding for Pennsylvania. “They have to have a little bit of backbone,” Gaut said.
If Bill Leighty lost his job, he’d be devastated — for himself, and because of what it would mean for Fayette County.
An assistant house manager of the City Mission-Living Stones Inc. men’s emergency shelter in Uniontown, Leighty was also a client at the shelter last summer after being homeless on the city’s streets.
Leighty took the part-time managing position in October and likes to think he’s making a difference with the men who stay in the shelter, particularly recovering and active addicts since he is almost eight months clean from an addiction to opioids himself.
Leighty has planned to stay a manager at City Mission. When he gets to 18 months clean, he’ll be eligible to achieve his goal of getting credentialed to become a certified recovery specialist.
But Leighty, who turns 50 on Thursday, would have to change course along with the rest of the county if City Mission is forced to shut down its emergency shelter program that annually serves about 500 homeless men, women and children next month, when its Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding from the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) expires.
Fayette County Community Action Agency’s Bridgehouse, a transitional living facility for homeless families, will only be able to remain open through June 30 as a result of ESG funding reallocations to the county, Community Action Director of Human Resources Tammy Knouse said.
The DCED awarded Fayette County $100,000 in ESG funding for fiscal year 2017, none of which was allocated for emergency shelter operations or essential services.
DCED Deputy Communications Director Michael Gerber said that the DCED had only $5.7 million available for more than $12 million in requests for ESG funding, meaning that awards needed to be given based on priorities outlined in the department’s ESG guidelines.
Rapid rehousing, defined by the DCED as financial or rental assistance provided to homeless individuals and families, was the primary priority for 2017 ESG allocations.
Fayette County received $74,750 for rapid rehousing in addition to $11,500 for Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), a database used to confidentially aggregate data on homeless populations, and $10,000 for street outreach, defined by the DCED as services connecting unsheltered homeless people with emergency shelter or other housing services, or non-facility based care for those unwilling or unable to access emergency shelter.
Knouse said that rapid rehousing is helpful but requires documentation of clients, a process that takes several days and will not allow for immediate shelter for people who walk in needing a place to stay.
Emergency shelter operations were listed by the DCED as a “Non-Priority,” with applicants requesting funds only allowed to request ESG funds equal to 25 percent of their total shelter operations budget for the 18-month award period.
It won’t matter if Fayette County has funding to reach out to homeless individuals and collect data if City Mission’s emergency shelters don’t have enough money to operate, City Mission Executive Director Irmi Gaut said.
“Fayette County’s so oppressed anyway that if they lost this place, I don’t know what would happen,” Leighty said.
Gaut is afraid she knows all too well what would happen.
At a meeting between representatives from City Mission, Community Action and the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority at Community Action on Jan. 25 for a meeting to discuss ESG funding issues, Gaut and others predicted dire ramifications for the county and its homeless individuals.
Knouse anticipated more homeless individuals in emergency rooms, especially in cold weather, while Community Action Director of Customer Service Rita Masi predicted more law enforcement issues and squatting as a result.
Gaut noted the subzero temperatures that chilled the area last month, adding that it takes two to three weeks to get clients into an apartment.
“Does that mean somebody has to die?” Gaut asked.
Fayette County received $449,205 in ESG funding for fiscal year 2016, a contract that ends March 19, which is also when Gaut said City Mission’s funding will expire.
Gaut floated the possibility of asking area churches for donations to sustain City Mission, figuring that 200 churches each giving $100 a month could help but wouldn’t be a long-term solution.
Leah Dietrich, director of residential programs at Washington City Mission, noted that corporations, church partners and other donors keep her agency funded. Dan Carney, executive director of Union Mission in Latrobe, said that his agency’s emergency men’s shelter and other programs don’t depend on federal, state or local government funds.
But Greene County does not have an emergency shelter and would be adversely affected if Fayette County’s City Mission closes, said Amy Switalski, housing and family resources director of Greene County Human Services.
Switalski said that Fayette County’s City Mission is “really easy to work with” in referring and transferring homeless clients from Greene County to Fayette. Greene County Human Services has been solely dependent on City Mission-Living Stones, Inc. for homeless housing for the past year and a half.
“Greene is really going to struggle if City Mission closes,” Switalski said.
Fayette County agency officials are frustrated with explanations they’ve received from the DCED, which they say indicate that the DCED is trying to move individuals away from emergency shelters because they are still considered homeless when in such shelters.
“Our federal partners are encouraging states to end homelessness,” Kathy Possinger, director of the DCED’s center for monitoring and training, explained to Gaut in an email. “In accordance with the federal definition of homelessness, individuals and families in an emergency shelter, are still considered homeless … This is not to say that as part of the greater continuum of housing needs that there is not a place for emergency shelters, but rather to say that HUD’s priorities, and therefore DCED’s focus, has turned to looking to local funding to support those needs.”
“Defunding the shelters is not (ending) homelessness,” Fayette County Community Action Agency CEO James Stark said at the Jan. 25 agency meeting. “What are they thinking?”
A letter addressed on Jan. 23 to Gov. Tom Wolf from the office of state Rep. Matt Dowling, R-Uniontown, urged Wolf to review the ESG allotment for City Mission-Living Stones, Inc.
“(S)oon, homelessness will become one of our largest issues if this funding is not restored,” the letter states. “With such a situation on our hands, we cannot help but wonder where this funding is being allotted, if not to the second poorest county in the commonwealth.”
The letter was signed by Dowling and fellow Reps. Ryan Warner, R-Perryopolis, Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, Bud Cook, R-Coal Center, state Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Bullskin Township, and Fayette County Commissioners Vincent A. Vicites, Dave Lohr and Angela M. Zimmerlink.
Fayette County’s $100,000 was the lowest ESG allotment awarded for fiscal year 2017 among the eight counties receiving funding in the Pennsylvania Western Region Continuum of Care, whose entire award total was $2,397,840.
Gaut remembered that anonymous donations restored operations at City Mission after it shut its doors for a day in 2015 following four months of no funding from the state during its budget impasse. She’s hoping that community support keeps City Mission operating again.
Donations may be made through PayPal at www.citymissionfayette.org or mailed to City Mission-Living Stones, Inc., 165 N. Gallatin Ave., Uniontown PA 15401.
“I’m a woman of faith,” Gaut said. “The first thing we do is pray.”