Last week, hundreds of people over the course of two days saw a woman in the small pocket park on Second Street, across from The Post-Journal, with a suitcase and little else.

The woman reportedly suffered three previous strokes, which left her left arm and shoulder paralyzed. She was unable to lift her arm to put on a jacket or wrap herself in a blanket. She spent two nights in the park.

Some people ordered food for the woman. Others talked to her to try to see if there was someone they could call for help. Eventually, a couple of the women who had been trying to help the woman asked me to help because they knew I’d been writing about the homeless population in Jamestown for the past year or so. After a couple of phone calls to Mayor Kim Ecklund and city Development Director Crystal Surdyk, help arrived. The unhoused woman is fine and is receiving care.

But over the course of those two days, one thing became clear – many in the city who want to help the homeless they see have no idea where to start.

Recovery Options Made Easy officially opened its Code Blue shelter at 917 Washington St. this week. The building will be open on Code Blue designated nights until April 30, 2025. Code Blue shelter, according to Shannon Higbee, ROME CEO, is provided to single men and women who do not qualify for Temporary Housing Assistance in Chautauqua County and to homeless individuals when the temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

The overnight shelter can serve as a starting point for the homeless to begin receiving additional assistance.

“So each night, four separate individuals cover the site, and that gives opportunity for individuals (guests) to meet a number of people who they may be able to connect with, and we may be able to engage with, and develop relationships with them to help encourage them to take advantage of the services in the community,” Higbee said.

As for those who want to help as they can, one place to start is 9-1-1 if the situation is an emergency. For non-emergency situations, here’s a list of agencies that can help:

Recovery Options Made Easy- 716-532-5508, 560 W. Third St.;

United Christian Advocacy Networks City Mission (UCAN) – 716-488-7480, 7 W. First St.;

St. Susan Center – 716-664-2253, 31 Water St., Suite 130;

The Salvation Army Jamestown – 716-664-4108, 83 S. Main St.;

CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY SERVICES

Chautauqua County Crisis Hotline-1-800-724-0461; Crisis Text Line- Text HOME to 741741;

Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene’s Mobile Crisis- 1-800-724-0461;

Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene – 716-753-4104, 2 Academy Street, Suite 201, Mayville; Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers – Jamestown, 716- 661-8330, 200 E. Third St., 5th Floor, Dunkirk – 716-363-3550, 60-62 Franklin Ave;

Children & Adult Single Point of Access (SPOA) – 716-661-8850, 333 E. Fifth St;

Adult Protection and Elder Abuse Prevention – 716-661-7447;

Chautauqua County Department of Social Services – 716-661-8200;

The Chautauqua County Homeless Coalition (Chautauqua Opportunities Inc.) – 716-363-3333, 17 W. Courtney Street, Dunkirk.

Overnight Warming Center – 716-550-6657, 917 Washington St.

Community Helping Hands – 716-487-1488, 31 Water St.

Jamestown Housing Authority – 716-664-3345, 110 W. Third Street, Suite 210.

Day time Code Blue shelters are located throughout the counties. Those who may need them should call for dates and times when the shelters are available. They are:

Ahira Hall Memorial Library, 716-792-9418;

Ashville Free Library, 716-763-9906;

Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc. (Dunkirk) 716-366-8176;

Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc., (Jamestown) 716-661-9430;

Department of Mental Hygiene and Social Services, (Dunkirk) 716-679-9881;

Department of Mental Hygiene and Social Services, (Jamestown) 716-661-8200;

Department of Mental Hygiene and Social Services, (Mayville) 716-753-4421;

Ellington-Farman Free Library, 716-287-2945;

Hazeltine Public Library, 716-487-1281;

James Prendergast Library, 716-484-7135;

Joy Fellowship Free Methodist Church, 716-484-1542;

Lakewood Memorial Library, 716-763-6234;

Myers Memorial Library, 716-569-5515; and

Sinclairville Free Library, 716-962-5885.