Wednesday is the first day in Erie County’s history that they have taken drastic steps to end homelessness.
That’s according to the county executive as they opened a single-site operation for Our Neighbors Place.
The county is calling this the Streets to Sustainability initiative and their goal is to simplify access for those in need.
“Imagine picking up the entire shelter and moving to another church basement. We don’t have to do that anymore,” said Kurt Crays, CEO of the Erie United Methodist Alliance (EUMA).
Erie County awarded over $1.1 million for community projects
Our Neighbor’s Place will be starting its 13th year of providing overflow shelter for those who are experiencing a homeless crisis.
Previously the program would rotate locations every couple of weeks between about 15 churches.
Services will only offered at the Community Resilience Center located at 450 East 16th Street starting Wednesday night.
“We’ve done this for decades so now this is the new approach to really get to the root of the cause,” said Erie County Executive Brenton Davis.