From right, Christine Schuyler, county social services commissioner and public health director, Katie Geise, Workforce Investment Board executive director, and Diane Anderson, county certification director, presenting the temporary assistance report to the Chautauqua County Legislature Human Services Committee Wednesday. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

MAYVILLE — Temporary housing assistance in Chautauqua County has returned to levels seen in past years.

On Wednesday, Christine Schuyler, county social services commissioner and public health director, Katie Geise, Workforce Investment Board executive director, and Diane Anderson, county certification director, presented the temporary assistance report to the Chautauqua County Legislature Human Services Committee. Anderson said in the month of September, the county spent $29,790 on temporary housing assistance for the homeless. She said from January to September, the county spent a total of $379,747 on temporary housing assistance, which is lower than how much the county spent in 2018. She added that the amount spent on helping the homeless with temporary housing has returned to 2017 levels.

In 2018, the county spent $1,104,832 on temporary housing assistance, which was a $728,248 increase compared to the total in 2017.

In the month of September, there was a total of 67 cases for temporary housing assistance for homeless people, Anderson said. Of the 67 cases, 27 were single males, 22 single female sand 18 families. In addition, eight individuals were on parole or recently released from jail. There were zero individual/families placed in temporary housing due to Code Blue conditions in the month of September.

Under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order in 2016, Code Blue is when county officials have to take homeless people to a shelter, voluntarily or not, once the temperature drops to 32 degrees or below.

The new policy was a departure from the former, which allowed a police officer or outreach worker to take people from the street only if they appeared to be in imminent danger or displayed signs of mental illness.

In 2015, the county started tracking individuals and families needing temporary housing assistance due to homelessness.

Overall, the temporary assistance caseload in the county has decreased. In January 2012, there were 2,635 cases and in September 2019 there were only 1,547. This was a decrease of 1,088 cases, or 41%.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program caseload is increasing.

In January 2012, there were 10,500 cases and in September 2019 there were 11,430, and increase of 930, or 9%.