The YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County is working on a plan to expand housing options for homeless families.
The organization announced on Monday, that with the help of a $200,000 investment from KeyBank, it will be renovating a building on Ardmore St. in the 19th Ward that will become an emergency shelter for homeless women and their families.
The President and CEO of the YWCA, Myra Henry, said it will have 12 units of housing along with support services.
Henry said additional shelter for homeless families has been growing.
“The YWCA has a family shelter on Clinton Avenue downtown,” said Henry, “and our current shelter is always at capacity with a waiting list. So yes, we see it in the statistics and the numbers that the county keeps, but we also see it here on a local level for the work that we do every day.”
Henry said that the numbers of homeless families in the Rochester area has been increasing, especially since moratoriums on evictions ended after the pandemic.
“We saw an increase in evictions, many of which impacted families…the cost of rent is going up at an astronomical rate, and the amount of affordable housing that’s available for families is limited in our area,” said Henry.
The Rochester Market President for KeyBank, Phil Muscato, said that the work the YWCA will do at the new facility will provide women and families a safe place to live together and he added that, “It will also provide them a path to permanent housing and financial stability.
The new shelter will use a building that needs substantial renovations and Henry said it should be up and operating in about a year.
