By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
OLEAN — The Genesis House formally opened its new Housing Outreach and Peer Engagement (Hope) Center at 315 W. State St. on Friday.
Melissa Yaworsky, Genesis House executive director, welcomed those attending the grand opening and ribbon cutting and said the outreach program has helped 19 formerly homeless individuals obtain permanent housing since Jan. 1.
“For over 30 years we have worked in our shelters to find permanent housing, but some people who are homeless in our community may not be ready for housing,” Yaworsky said.
“Some need rehab,” she said.”Others may need to build trust before they can work with supportive services. Some may need to get used to being inside after years of living outside. Some may be receiving other benefits that can be barriers to participating in a shelter system.”
Yaworsky emphasized that “Genesis House is not going to turn away folks just because they are not service ready.”
The plan is that the Hope Center, Housing Outreach and Peer Engagement, will fill that gap and support people as they work toward engaging the appropriate services.”
Nineteen people who made the decision to engage with the Genesis House community outreach team this year “now have a place to call home,” Yaworsky said.
Paula Bernstein, executive treasurer at the Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Genesis House board for nearly 10 years, said she was “incredibly proud of the Genesis House and this long-held goal becoming a reality.
Bernstein also read a proclamation from Mayor Amy B. Sherburne, who was unable to attend. “The Genesis House HOPE Center serves as a housing outreach and peer engagement facility dedicated to connecting individuals with the support and resources they need to build safer, healthier and more stable lives.”
The mayor commended the HOPE Center “for its commitment to serving individuals and strengthening our community through outreach, connection, compassion and support.”
Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski also spoke, thanking Genesis House for their great work in helping people. It can be a place to go for those who “fall on rough times” and don’t know where to turn.
“I think everyone in our community realizes that homelessness and housing insecurity is an increasingly difficult problem in Olean and Cattaraugus County,” Sempolinski said.
It’s good to “have a place to go where they will be helped to get other resources they need — perhaps a substance abuse issue or a mental health issue — or get directed to a place where they can get the aid they need,” Sempolinski said. “That’s what being a community is all about. That’s what taking care of your fellow human beings is all about.”
Julie Schmidt, district coordinator for State Sen. George Borrello, thanked Genesis House for their work with the homeless and expanding their services with the HOPE resource center.
Later, during a tour of the HOPE center, Yaworsky said Genesis House had purchased a duplex it is renovating to be able to offer two homeless families at a time to have safe, temporary housing. It could be ready some time next month.
There is currently room for three families at Genesis House’s main location on South Barry Street.
Yaworsky said Genesis House is already beginning to gear up for Code Blue conditions when overnight temperatures fall below 32 degrees starting in November. In December the shelter will be open each night regardless of temperature.
In addition to its shelters for families, up to eight homeless individuals will be allowed to sleep in assigned space in the shelter’s living room during Code Blue events.
“It’s not glamorous, but it’s clean and warm,” Yaworsky said. They are allowed to bring a few belongings inside, get a hot meal, do laundry, shower and sleep between 5 p.m. and 8:15 a.m.
For other homeless individuals and families, Social Services helps put them up in area hotels during Code Blue events.
Genesis House will also operate a Code Blue shelter from a.m. to 5 p.m. at the John J. Ash Center on North Barry Street
According to Yaworsky, there are up to 13 homeless families and more than 60 individuals without housing in Cattaraugus County.
“This center will give us more visibility to be able to assist people who are homeless,” Yaworsky said. It is a place other agencies can refer people to, she added.
Outreach coordinator Cassie Stives, has been doing homeless outreach in Cattaraugus and Allegany counties for the past 3 ½ months. “To be able to open a site where not only do we come to you, but now you can come to us, right? It’s like a blessing.
Stives added: “ The thing that excites me the most about having the center is a combination of community. This is a resource connection, absolutely, but there’s also a connectivity to other people going through something similar.”
Stives said there have been over 700 engagements with people so far this year. The 19 people who have found their way with Genesis House’s help to permanent housing “is fantastic,” she said. “We’re averaging two or three a month. One at a time. That’s huge.”
The HOPE outreach center at 315 W. State St., is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Discover more from Olean Star
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
