Tompkins County’s only homeless shelter closed to clients on Thursday.
St. John’s Community Services in Ithaca was originally set to close next week on Saturday, Nov. 16. The organization provided hotel rooms and shelter space for 70-80 people, according to St. John’s leadership.
St. John’s Deputy CEO George Liacopoulos said the early closure is because of staffing shortages.
“We were concerned that staffing ratios would decline to critical and unsustainable levels that would negatively impact safety and quality of services as staff left to seek other opportunities,” he said in a statement to WSKG.
A statement from the county said the Department of Social Services has attempted to work with everyone using the facility to find alternative shelter.
County spokesperson Dominick Recckio said there were over 30 clients utilizing the shelter, but he did not know if all of them had been placed in alternative accommodations.
According to a statement released last month, the county was negotiating contracts with local motels to provide rooms for people who had been utilizing the shelter.
In September, Tompkins County announced the creation of a shelter to fulfill its Code Blue obligations. Code Blue is a state-mandated program that requires counties to provide shelter in freezing temperatures.
The shelter is expected to open this month and can house 60-80 people.