Rochester City Council has approved $50,000 for a new, temporary shelter for chronically homeless people who have nowhere else to go this winter.
The measure is still awaiting the signature of Mayor Lovely Warren.
The Rochester Emergency Action Committee for the Homeless (REACH) is hoping to open the shelter at the end of the month at the rectory building of the Our Lady of the Americas Church at 80 Prince Street. It will be managed by paid staff and volunteers. The space is not currently being used as a rectory by the Diocese of Rochester.
The site is intended to serve as a temporary shelter until the House of Mercy completes renovations on a permanent shelter on Orman Street, which is expected to be ready by next winter.
“We know the homeless try to find refuge many places and if they go into buildings or outside of buildings to find a warm spot, they’re put out,” said Sister Grace Miller. “So, my happiness will be when we have a permanent building and no one will be able to say, ‘You can’t come in.’ "
REACH is also collecting private donations for the temporary shelter and says funding discussions are ongoing with Monroe County.
