Smithfield homeless shelter to close next month; push for more shelter space continues

IN NEED RIGHT? RIGHT, MIKE, KRISTEN AND THE SHELTER IS ON TRACK TO CLOSE IN JUNE. THAT CAME AS NO SURPRISE. BUT SOME PEOPLE WE TALKED TO SAY THAT THEY’RE CONCERNED. THEY WANT TO SEE ADDITIONAL BEDS CREATED FOR PEOPLE WHO WILL SOON BE WITHOUT A PLACE TO STAY. AND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WHO ALREADY ARE WITHOUT A PLACE TO STAY WOULD URGE COUNCIL TO DO IS TO PRESENT A MOTION ASKING THEM NOT TO CLOSE THE CENTER. THERE’S LITERALLY NO REASON FOR US TO CLOSE THIS SHELTER. NEARLY 150 NIGHTLY GUESTS AT THE SMITHFIELD SHELTER WILL SOON BE DISPLACED. I GOT TO GIVE PROPS TO THE PEOPLE WHO WORK AT THE SHELTER IN SECOND AVENUE, THE SECOND AVENUE COMMONS. I THINK IT’S A GREAT IDEA. I THINK IT’S A GREAT CONCEPT. I JUST THINK IT’S TOO SMALL. IT’S TOO SMALL TO MEET THE NEED. DIRECTOR AARON DALTON SAYS ALLEGHENY COUNTY’S INCREASE IN PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IS WHY THE SHELTERS USE WAS EXTENDED TO JUNE TO BEGIN WITH. IT’S TYPICALLY AND MOST APPROPRIATELY USED AS A WINTER SHELTER. I DO FEEL LIKE WITH THE WITH THE INCREASE IN HOMELESSNESS, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT ALL OPTIONS. SO IF THAT HAD BEEN A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE REALLY COULD SAFELY BE IN THE SUMMER, IT WOULD BE ON THE TABLE. DALTON SAYS THE COUNTY IS PAYING FOR TEMPORARY AIR CONDITIONING UNITS, BUT PUTTING IN AN HVAC SYSTEM IS NOT RECOMMENDED DUE TO THE BUILDING’S AGE ARCHITECTURE AND COST MANNY WITH ONE HOOD MEDIA QUESTIONS WHY ENCAMPMENTS HAVE BEEN EVICTED WITHOUT MORE SHELTER OPTIONS IN THE WORKS. PEOPLE DON’T CARE THAT PEOPLE ARE LIVING IN POVERTY AND STRUGGLING TO GET BY. SO AS LONG AS THEY DON’T SEE IT WHEN THEY’RE WALKING DOWN THE STREET, DALTON SAYS THE COUNTY IS WORKING TO PROVIDE OPTIONS FOR WHAT’S NEXT AFTER THE JUNE CLOSURE, OUR TEAMS, INCLUDING THE SHELTER PROVIDER, ARE WORKING WITH PEOPLE NOW ON IDENTIFYING OTHER OPTIONS, PARTICULARLY FOR PEOPLE WHO STAY AT SMITHFIELD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST ON A MORE REGULAR BASIS. DARRYL GILLIAM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF LIGHT OF LIFE, SAID, QUOTE, WHILE THERE MIGHT BE 150 BEDS FOR PEOPLE WHO WILL BE DISPLACED FROM SMITHFIELD SHELTER WHEN IT CLOSES, WE ARE STILL DEALING WITH A 25% INCREASE IN PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. SO THERE’S ROUGHLY 500 ADDITIONAL PEOPL

The overnight homeless shelter at the Smithfield United Church of Christ in downtown Pittsburgh will close in June.Nearly 150 people who sleep at the Smithfield shelter nightly will be displaced.Second Avenue Commons opened last year, creating 90 beds. MAN-E with 1 Hood Media said the facility alone can’t support the growing homeless population.“I have got to give props to the people who work at the Second Avenue Commons. I think it’s a great idea. I think it’s a great concept. I just think it’s too small. It’s too small to meet the need,” advocacy, policy, and civic engagement coordinator for 1 Hood Media, MAN-E, said.The Allegheny County Department of Human Services said in a statement Monday that the temporary shelter had continued operating past its normal March closure date. The shelter normally operates around and during winter."The Smithfield shelter is typically open from Nov. 15 to March 15. We've seen it as a winter shelter all of these years," said director of DHS, Erin Dalton. "Just giving the need, we wanted to make sure people were sheltered while we find other options for them. We have seen an increase in homelessness and we want to make sure we are offering good shelter options to folks."The DHS said the Smithfield Shelter could not maintain a population during the warmer months. One reason for this is that the church has no central cooling system."The folks at Smithfield are incredible partners here but the actual facility is not a very good facility for summer. We are paying for temporary air conditioning that can be brought in, but big HVAC is not recommended given the age of the building," Dalton told Pittsburgh's Action News 4. "So it's not only the cost of that, it's also the challenges of the architecture of the building."“I think if air conditioning is really the problem, then get it. They have enough money for it,” MAN-E said.MAN-E said he questions why encampments have been evicted without more shelter options in the works.“People don’t care that people are living in poverty and struggling to get by, as long as they don’t see it when they’re walking down the street,” MAN-E said.Dalton said the county is working to provide options for what’s next after the June closure.“Our teams, including the shelter provider, are working with people now on identifying other options, particularly for people who stay at Smithfield on a regular basis,” Dalton said.The agency said that, along with its partners, it has been "identifying naturally occurring vacancies within the shelter system, expanding capacity at existing facilities, identifying new shelter locations, and may also utilize overflow in other facilities where appropriate."Jerrell Gilliam, executive director of Light of Life Rescue Mission, said. “While there might be 150 beds for the people who will be displaced from Smithfield shelter when it closes, we’re still dealing with a 25% increase in people experiencing homelessness, so there are roughly 500 additional people still needing beds.”The county told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 there was confusion with the extended closure date so they wanted to get the message out to settle any misinformation spreading around about the shelter. The county added that they didn't have the opportunity yet to provide clients using the shelter, with as much information as they should have received.When asked if the decades-old winter shelter will reopen come November, Dalton said it's too early to tell:"I don't want to make decisions now about how we'll use the shelter come November. The issue of homelessness is ever-changing right now," Dalton said. The county encourages anyone in need of resources because of this change to contact Allegheny Link at 1-866-730-2368. Allegheny Link is open weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

PITTSBURGH —

The overnight homeless shelter at the Smithfield United Church of Christ in downtown Pittsburgh will close in June.

Nearly 150 people who sleep at the Smithfield shelter nightly will be displaced.

Second Avenue Commons opened last year, creating 90 beds. MAN-E with 1 Hood Media said the facility alone can’t support the growing homeless population.

“I have got to give props to the people who work at the Second Avenue Commons. I think it’s a great idea. I think it’s a great concept. I just think it’s too small. It’s too small to meet the need,” advocacy, policy, and civic engagement coordinator for 1 Hood Media, MAN-E, said.

The Allegheny County Department of Human Services said in a statement Monday that the temporary shelter had continued operating past its normal March closure date. The shelter normally operates around and during winter.

"The Smithfield shelter is typically open from Nov. 15 to March 15. We've seen it as a winter shelter all of these years," said director of DHS, Erin Dalton. "Just giving the need, we wanted to make sure people were sheltered while we find other options for them. We have seen an increase in homelessness and we want to make sure we are offering good shelter options to folks."

The DHS said the Smithfield Shelter could not maintain a population during the warmer months. One reason for this is that the church has no central cooling system.

"The folks at Smithfield are incredible partners here but the actual facility is not a very good facility for summer. We are paying for temporary air conditioning that can be brought in, but big HVAC is not recommended given the age of the building," Dalton told Pittsburgh's Action News 4. "So it's not only the cost of that, it's also the challenges of the architecture of the building."

“I think if air conditioning is really the problem, then get it. They have enough money for it,” MAN-E said.

MAN-E said he questions why encampments have been evicted without more shelter options in the works.

“People don’t care that people are living in poverty and struggling to get by, as long as they don’t see it when they’re walking down the street,” MAN-E said.

Dalton said the county is working to provide options for what’s next after the June closure.

“Our teams, including the shelter provider, are working with people now on identifying other options, particularly for people who stay at Smithfield on a regular basis,” Dalton said.

The agency said that, along with its partners, it has been "identifying naturally occurring vacancies within the shelter system, expanding capacity at existing facilities, identifying new shelter locations, and may also utilize overflow in other facilities where appropriate."

Jerrell Gilliam, executive director of Light of Life Rescue Mission, said. “While there might be 150 beds for the people who will be displaced from Smithfield shelter when it closes, we’re still dealing with a 25% increase in people experiencing homelessness, so there are roughly 500 additional people still needing beds.”

The county told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 there was confusion with the extended closure date so they wanted to get the message out to settle any misinformation spreading around about the shelter. The county added that they didn't have the opportunity yet to provide clients using the shelter, with as much information as they should have received.

When asked if the decades-old winter shelter will reopen come November, Dalton said it's too early to tell:

"I don't want to make decisions now about how we'll use the shelter come November. The issue of homelessness is ever-changing right now," Dalton said.

The county encourages anyone in need of resources because of this change to contact Allegheny Link at 1-866-730-2368. Allegheny Link is open weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Smithfield homeless shelter to close next month; push for more shelter space continues

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