Shelters of Saratoga, a non-profit that operates an emergency homeless shelter in Saratoga Springs, backed out of an agreement today to locate a low-barrier shelter in a former senior center in favor of a new, yet-to-be disclosed location.
Shelters of Saratoga, a case-managed shelter that also operates the city’s Code Blue emergency program – currently out of a city-owned property on Adelphi Street – announced Friday afternoon that it will not follow through with an agreement with the city to locate its services at the former Saratoga Senior Center.
The building that housed the Senior Center – which has since moved to a new facility – is located on downtown property that abuts athletic fields for Saratoga Central Catholic School.
The new location was heralded by city and county leaders during a press conference in October. Democratic Mayor Ron Kim made the official announcement…
“We’re going to be building a permanent low-barrier shelter and navigation center on this site in the first quarter of 2023,” said Kim.
The years-long project to find a permanent Code Blue shelter has been a key goal for Shelters of Saratoga. The planned move to the former Senior Center on Williams Street was supported by philanthropy from the Mitzen family.
But plans have changed.
Duane Vaughn is the organization’s Executive Director.
“We want to find a fit that fits the community as a whole, and keeping to our mission and making sure that we’re serving our most vulnerable populations,” said Vaughn.
The announcement surprised Mayor Kim, who spoke with WAMC hours before he was set to deliver his annual State of the City address.
“Duane Vaughn didn’t even bother calling me. I don’t know what’s the reason behind Shelters of Saratoga – and I presume their mission is still to shelter the homeless – have walked away from the relationship they have with the city,” said Kim.
Earlier this week, parents of students at Saratoga Central Catholic School gathered to express their worry with having a homeless shelter located near playing fields. As reported by the Daily Gazette, parents locked arms in front of the currently-closed Senior Center.
Vaughn said Shelters of Saratoga met weeks ago with school administrators.
“And we heard their concerns. We felt that we did have very safe plan moving forward for everyone. But, you know, unfortunately that wasn’t what the full community felt. So we wanted to make sure before we move any further that that is in place,” said Vaughn.
For the time being, Code Blue will still operate on Adelphi Street, a space that can accommodate 61 beds. Shelters of Saratoga says it has identified an alternate location, though it is not making details public at this time.
Code Blue Saratoga has changed locations several times over the last several years since it was established in 2014. The program was begun after a woman died while attempting to find shelter outside the senior center on a frigid night in December 2013.
Mayor Kim said the city had considered other spots.
“There are other important players in this space that might be able to step up, and we certainly…one of the things that we were considering even before this announcement was alternative sites because we were listening to the parents of Spa Catholic. We just weren’t aware that basically Shelters of Saratoga and Duane Vaughn were walking away when I thought their mission was to provide a shelter for homeless individuals in Saratoga Springs.”
Shelters of Saratoga is no stranger to protest from neighbors. In 2017, the city gave the green light for the organization to locate a permanent shelter on Walworth Street – where the non-profit is headquartered and also operates a case-managed facility and drop-in center – amid outcry from neighbors.A judge revoked the approvals a year later.
