There’s some help on the way to find housing for homeless families in Ontario County.
There will be a shelter located on North Main St. in Canandaigua located at s a vacant cobblestone building.
That building was purchased last year by the Shill Cares Foundation.
A nonprofit organization, Family Promise of Ontario County, is working with that foundation to turn that building into a 24-hour shelter, that could accommodate up to seven families, with a maximum capacity of 30 individuals at a time. The new shelter is expected to be completed in September.
Todd Bernhardt is Executive Director for Family Promise of Ontario County, and he said the idea is to make this a temporary stop to help families be able to eventually live independently.
“Our nonprofit helps families with children under 18 to keep the family unit together, and then we provide case management resources to just really be there to help understand what their goals are, what their needs are, what's the barriers that stand in the way of long term financial sustainability,” Bernhardt said.
He quoted county statistics which show a more tan 300% increase in family homelessness since 2020.
Bernhardt said a lack of house and economic factors, such as inflation, are likely behind the sharp hike in homelessness.
“Lack of affordable housing is the number one reason,” said Bernhardt. “Just the inventory that's out there for affordable housing is really becoming more and more scarce. The cost for rent and apartments has really skyrocketed, skyrocketed over the past few years.”
Ed Shill, co-founder of the Shill Cares Foundation, said in a statement that, “the shelter is more than a building, it’s a beacon of hope for families who have nowhere else to turn.
Bernhardt hopes that eventually another shelter can be built in Geneva and also in other parts of Ontario County.
