Members of the Chautauqua County Homeless Coalition now have an action plan to help decrease the number of homeless in Chautauqua County.

The coalition met virtually Thursday to discuss the working plan as well as hear updates from member organizations about the 2024-25 Code Blue season.

Josiah Lamp, Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc. housing and emergency services director, said the organization’s action plan is a working document, and updates will be made over time as needed.

“The action plan has four goals,” said Lamp, during the briefing, which includes housing development, professional development, peer support services and transportation services.

Within each goal are several subcategories which are vital in the way in which the coalition will implement the action plan, said Lamp.

— Housing Development consists of identifying and quantifying current and in-progress homeless housing units and supporting development of new, affordable, homeless-housing projects.

— Professional Development has a trifecta of components, said Lamp, that include establishing a training curriculum for homeless service providers; setting a training schedule and publicizing the training, and then holding coalition skills courses.

— Peer Support Services has four components that are assigned to it. The first calls for the creation of a working group to lead the peer recruitment and retention strategies; the second phase requires the gathering of information on peer certification, case studies, and success stories to use in outreach activities.

— Transportation includes the establishment of a working exploratory group that will gather input from people experiencing homelessness about their individual transportation needs and providing recommendations to the coalition to expand transportation options.

Additionally, coalition members reported on various issues they are individually dealing with during the briefing.

“We’re having homeless individuals sleeping in our stairwells, on benches and even in some (generous) people’s homes,” said Liz Cardona, Dunkirk Housing Authority director.

In a direct message Cardona told The Post-Journal and OBSERVER, “At one point my only option was to hire armed guards,” she said. “Elderly residents do not feel safe. Top concerns – mental health and addiction.”

Toni Taylor of Recovery Options Made Easy (ROME) said, “We are at capacity. We continue to see donations and community support.”

Echoing Taylors comment, Katricia Nutting, a case manager with the United Christian Advocacy Network’s City Mission, reported that the mission is “currently at capacity with 17 guests, and that it was in the process of opening more bed space – jumping from 17 beds to 21.”

The City Mission is located at 7 W. First St. a men’s only shelter which has been in existence since Jan. 1, 2017, after taking over the now defunct Union Gospel Mission, at the same location.

It was reported that the next Point in Time (PIT) survey will be conducted Jan. 30, at shelters and unsheltered locations across the county. PIT surveys are required to be conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and provide a rough estimate of how many people at a given point in time are unhoused or homeless.

Upcoming 2025 Homeless Coalition Meetings are listed here: Feb. 13 (Virtual); March 13, (Virtual); April 10, the James Prendergast Library, 509 Cherry St. (Fireplace Room.); May 8, (Virtual); June 12, City of Dunkirk -location to be determined; No meeting in July; Aug. 14 (Virtual); Sept. 11, James Prendergast Library, Oct. 9 (Virtual); Nov. 13 (Virtual) and no meeting is scheduled in December.

Current coalition members include American Red Cross, Chautauqua Opportunities Inc., Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene and Social Services, City of Dunkirk, Connection Communities in Action, Erie 2-Chatauqua Cattaraugus BOCES, Recovery Options Made Easy (ROME), New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYS DOCCS), Soldier On, UCAN City Mission, Veterans One Stop of Western New York, 211, The Chautauqua Center, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Center for Elder Law and Justice, Catholic Charities, Chautauqua Youth Bureau, City of Jamestown Department of Development, Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System, Dunkirk Housing Authority, Mental Health Association of Chautauqua County (MHA), Evergreen Health Association in Chautauqua County, Community Helping Hands, Southern Tier Environments for Living Inc., The Resource Center, The United Way, YWCA of Jamestown, Jamestown Housing Authority and Jamestown Community College.

For more information visit chautauquaopportunities.com