Saratoga Springs officials gave their state of the city addresses Tuesday, highlighting progress made toward supporting the city’s unhoused residents.
Republican Mayor John Safford invited fellow councilors and the city’s two supervisors to speak at his first State of the City address Tuesday.
Safford promised during his campaign to continue efforts toward mitigating the Spa City’s growing homelessness issue.
“I do want to mention that in our first month we have made some significant strides toward working with the homeless population, we’re going to continue to do that,” said Safford.
Safford’s predecessor established a task force on homelessness that met for a final scheduled time at the end of 2023, presenting its findings — a potential location for a permanent homeless shelter — to the previous city council. Safford has said he plans on having the task force address the new council in February.
Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi outlined the funding of ongoing efforts to help the city’s unhoused residents.
“In 2023, we also funded a 24/7 low-barrier homeless shelter operated by the dedicated team at RISE. We also provided funding to Code Blue, operated by Shelters of Saratoga, to offer 24/7 housing during the coldest months of the year. These partnerships with non-profit social service organizations allow the city to assist some our most vulnerable community members,” explained Sanghvi.
Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub reflected on a partnership program between the city and RISE Healthy Housing and Support Services to help employ some of the residents of its shelter.
“And the goal is really to, you know for some of these folks they haven’t been employed for a decade. And it was unrealistic to think that now that they have a temporary roof over their head they can just walk down the street and get a job – that wasn’t going to happen. And so, as a city we provided that first step up the ladder,” said Golub.
Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll addressed the renewed attention his office is giving to the city’s community engagement officer program – which went from one to two on-the-ground officers.
“This program is a priority for us. And it involves our officers meeting with the business community, learning about their concerns and vulnerabilities, as well as working with our homeless community and non-profits such as RISE and Shelters of Saratoga. Additionally, our CEOs will be working with our community outreach board – led by Judge Vero, who’s here tonight, thank you, Judge – to help the homeless obtain the services they need,” explained Coll.
Long-time city supervisor Matt Veitch vowed to support the various organizations and programs in place to help the city’s most vulnerable residents.
“It’s probably one of our largest issues we have to tackle here as a community. The year-round shelter on Adelphi Street has been a great success, moving those who are unhoused in our community to a safe space with supports, but it is only a temporary solution. The county continues to run Cold Blue, with Shelters of Saratoga but has yet to find a permanent location. And changes in state funding are going to cause some issues,” said Veitch.
Veitch warned of looming decreases in state support for the seasonal shelter, and promised to be proactive in ensuring the program’s continued operation.
Speaking with WAMC, Shelters of Saratoga Executive Director Dwayne Vaughn says he’s encouraged by the support Safford’s office has shown so far.
“All of us at SOS have full faith that he is really gong to make a difference for us, and we’re excited to work with this administration and with the other agencies that are at the table,” said Vaughn.
