Ellicott and Falconer Central School officials knew in February the lack of issues surrounding housing the homeless in Ellicott-area hotels was likely short-lived.

They were right. Warm weather brought with it a return to the issues that have had Falconer and Ellicott officials frustrated for the past few years. Four times in the past two weeks police have been called for issues at the Quality Inn in Ellicott and the Budget Inn in Falconer.

Two people were charged with endangering the welfare of a child, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminally using drug paraphernalia after Ellicott police officers responded to a report of an unresponsive person at the Quality Inn, where it is alleged Officers located people inside the room all responsive and alert. Officers observed the room conditions to be deplorable with zero egress or a designated exit path, and also observed a small child inside. Police said, officers also located narcotics and drug paraphernalia all within reach of the child. One person living in the Budget Inn and another living in the Quality Inn were charged with trespassing on Fenner Elementary School property during school hours. Two others were charged with trespassing after entering the playground area of Fenner Elementary School while school was in session. The most recent incident took place at the Budget Inn and resulted in a man being charged with second-degree harassment, third-degree assault, third-degree menacing, and criminal obstruction of breathing after a fight with another person that included threats with a knife.

If this early spring is any indication, the issues with housing so many homeless in Ellicott and Falconer are resurfacing with a vengeance.

The solution is simple and, at the same time, complex. We can’t expect to continue putting the homeless in hotels without any sort of treatment or help and expect these sorts of issues not to happen. The pattern has been well established over the past few years. Warehousing the homeless doesn’t work.

But we also know it takes time to come up with alternative solutions. Getting state funding, locations and programs in place to help has proven difficult. Ellicott and Falconer officials know that fact all too well.

We called a couple of weeks ago for faster action on alternatives to housing the homeless in hotels, particularly hotels near schools. The need for action is only going to increase now that spring has sprung. We hope, by the time school reopens in September, to see something different in the housing of the homeless near Falconer’s school buildings, particularly Fenner Elementary School.

That’s an admittedly heavy lift for social services officials at the local and state levels. But Falconer taxpayers deserve change. They, and their children, deserve better.