Agencies Come Together to Address Housing and Homelessness in Oswego County

Oswego, NY – Area human services organizations came together recently to discuss one of Oswego County’s most pressing issues…homelessness.

The number of homeless and housing vulnerable individuals and families in Oswego County is increasing. While some sleep in emergency shelters or non-profit paid for motels, others may resort to sleeping in tents or cars.

“Everyone deserves stable, permanent housing,” said CNY Housing and Homeless Coalition (HHC) Director Megan Stuart. “Policy changes and community can end homelessness.”

Stuart stated that strategies to alleviate homelessness must be data driven. To that end Stuart referred to the HHC’s Homeless Management Information System, a community wide data base that collects data from every housing provider and homeless service provider. “We currently have over 400 CNY active users and 85,000 client records in the system. This data is essential for creating strategies to eliminate homelessness,” said Stuart.

Using this data, HHC for Central New York, LIFT (Learn, Identify, Focus, Transform Oswego County), and the County of Oswego Advocates Challenging Homelessness (COACH), along with area human services agencies and community stakeholders are working together to end homelessness and housing vulnerability in Oswego County.

The forum featured presentations from Dr. David Lehmann, MD, PHARMD, medical director and co-founder of HouseCalls for the Homeless through SUNY Upstate who spoke of HouseCalls’ mission to provide medical, psychiatric and addiction safety-net services for men and women without homes. A formerly homeless young man also shared his experience of being homeless in Oswego County with Forum attendees.

Despite undesirable experiences in foster care and no male role models, Mike was able to overcome homelessness. Through his determination to build a support network, he now has a job and his own apartment.

“Addressing homelessness is a multi-faceted challenge but it is not unsurmountable,” said Mike. “Coordinated efforts between government agencies, non-profits, community members and businesses can lead to innovative strategies and support services such as mental health services, addiction treatment and job training to lessen homelessness. We also cannot forget that compassion is a major component in any solution addressing homelessness. Each homeless person has a unique story of struggles and aspirations. By showing empathy and offering a helping hand we can restore dignity and hope to those that need it most.

Homelessness is a challenge that affects us all. By understanding the root causes, recognizing the consequences and supporting the solutions, we can move closer to a world where homelessness is a thing of the past.”

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