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Emergency housing will be handled differently in Chautauqua County in the future -- though county officials say changes will take a while.
Over time, officials say the goal is to move away from hotel use toward expanded shelters. They note that the county is working with the area's Homeless Coalition to identify priority areas.
Those changes won't happen tomorrow -- meaning the status quo is here for a bit longer.
County officials echo what Aaron Wadin, UCAN City Mission executive director, told The Post-Journal recently. The number of homeless has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic as increasing rent and housing costs combining with a limited supply of affordable housing and the state's low shelter allowance making it difficult for people to exit emergency assistance shelters like the mission or the Budget Inn in Falconer into permanent housing.
Documentation acquired through a Freedom of Information Law rqeuest by The Post-Journal shows contracted housing rates for homeless individuals for UCAN City Mission in Jamestown and the contracted hotels and motels around the county.
The UCAN City Mission receives $85 a night per person for housing only and $100 a night, per person with case management services.
At first a discrepancy was found. According to the actual contract for the UCAN City Mission obtained by The Post-Journal, the city mission is contracted to house individuals at a rate of $65 a night with no provisions for a different rate for a person receiving case management services. That agreement went into effect Oct. 1, 2021, and is in effect until Sept. 30, 2024.
However, after a second FOIL request was sent to Chautauqua County officials asking again for rate clarification, the county confirmed that the actual rate for UCAN is $65 a night, not $85 a night as was previously quoted, though the county claims the rate of $100 a night for guests with case management services is still in force.
UCAN officials have said the case management rate was only a trial run and is not part of their actual contractual agreement or in force.
Emergency housing rates are as follows:
¯ UCAN City Mission -- $65, $100 with case management services.
¯ Budget Inn -- $65 per day for one person; $75 per day for two people; $80 per day for two people and two beds; $85 per day for four people.
¯ Dunkirk Motel -- $55 per day plus $10 for each additional person.
¯ Thruway Holiday Hotel -- $89 per day, single bed; $99 per day, double bed.
¯ Quality Inn -- $99 a day.
¯ Clarion Point -- $109 per day plus $10 per day for each adult beyond two.
As previously reported in The Post-Journal and OBSERVER, $1.36 million was spent on temporary housing in Chautauqua County in 2022, up from $636,000 in 2021. Additionally, since 2020 the county has paid more than $2,790,800.90 for temporary housing assistance and Code Blue emergency housing authorizations to these various entities.
Another FOIL request has been sent requesting a breakdown of how many times individuals have returned for housing assistance or sheltering services after previously being granted them on a temporary basis. That FOIL has not yet been received.