With the colder weather here, a Saratoga Springs homeless shelter is opening for the season.
The Code Blue shelter has been a pillar of the Saratoga Springs community service network for years, and has helped get a roof over people’s heads during the coldest parts of the year.
The seasonal shelter was started by local non-profit Shelters of Saratoga after the tragic freezing death of a city woman in 2013.
Shelters of Saratoga Executive Director Dwayne Vaughn says the Code Blue shelter hit the ground running Monday just as temperatures dropped below freezing.
“Opening night went very smoothly," said Vaughn. "I don’t have the exact numbers yet but I believe we were approaching the 40-mark last night. So, but we've got staff that are doing a great job, they're very invested in making sure that people are safe, and they have a meal, and that they have services around them. And we can reconnect or connect those—those people that want those services, hopefully right on site.”
RISE Healthy Housing and Support Services opened a temporary year-round, 24/7 low-barrier shelter where Code Blue had been located for the past several seasons at 4 Adelphi Street.
Vaughn says that the move to the new Code Blue location, 120 South Broadway, was a difficult but necessary one.
“We essentially knew that we had to find another place." Vaughn continued, "and because we outgrew that that space, our capacity last year was a 61. It was very tight in that in that building, to have 61 people very open, no privacy, we did have I don't know if you're aware of this, but we did have curtains hung to give people some privacy.”
Last season, Shelters of Saratoga was able to shelter 271 individuals between October and April, and received more than 11,000 meals in donations from local restaurants and civil organizations.
Vaughn says while clients and staff are adjusting to the new location, the larger space allows for some protections against potential COVID or flu outbreaks.
“We see that is one of the biggest advantages. Plus, it gives them a little privacy. You know, there's a, you know, full bathroom in every one of those rooms, where last year, we had 61 people that were sharing two bathrooms," explained Vaughn. "So, you know, all in all, we think that that the model is going to work, you know, it's a living, breathing atmosphere, so we have to kind of go with it and change and evolve as the season goes. But we're starting off on the right track.”
City officials have discussed building a permanent shelter for years, but previous proposals were met with opposition.
It was the failure of a plan to locate a shelter in the former Saratoga Senior Center that led to Mayor Ron Kim’s creation of a Task Force on Homelessness earlier this year.
Kim says the city council plans to hear the task force’s recommendations during its November 21st meeting.
"Whatever we do will have to be new construction," said Kim. "And, here's the good news; there is federal funding for new construction for—in this category. It is, in fact, a pretty robust area because the Biden administration recognized that coming out of the pandemic, there was a significant homeless problem all around the country. So they do have some programs that if we were to apply, we might get federal funding. So that would be one way we would do it, and then of course private funding would also come into play."
Kim says he’s confident the city will be able to get a shelter up and running by the end of 2024.
