In 18 months, Jamestown will have a 40,000 square foot women and children’s shelter through the efforts of the UCAN City Mission.

The building will feature four floors of various accommodations for single women, women with children, office space, a recreation space, a kitchen and chapel space. The family units will have separate bedrooms for mothers and children and a kitchenette. The facility will also be equipped with laundry facilities and a full-service kitchen that will serve both the men’s and women’s shelter. Likewise, one floor will contain a recreational gym space for children complete with an indoor playground. This space will share the floor with a few office spaces.

It’s a major project that takes a formerly vacant downtown building and turns it into something that can help nine families and 16 people at a time. At the same time, Chautauqua Opportunities has been awarded $2.49 million for a 12-unit supportive housing facility and an 18-bed emergency shelter for homeless women over the age of 18.

That’s all good news.

The bad news? It’s not enough.

In 2020, 222 single women spent time in hotels and motels while 108 families spent time in hotels and motels. And those are just the women and families in need the county knows about.

We shouldn’t kid ourselves. We’re making strides in helping women and children who find themselves homeless. But let’s not think the work is finished. Additional capacity is still going to be needed — though we won’t know how much until these new facilities come online.