The opening of Our Neighbor’s Place overflow homeless shelter has given the shelter a single location but raises questions about how people will get to the building on East 16th Street.
The Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority (EMTA) has been suggested as a solution.
On Wednesday, Nov. 13, drastic steps were taken to end homelessness in Erie County.
The initiative is called “Streets to Sustainability” as a single-site operation for Our Neighbors Place was opened.
A part of this initiative will be the EMTA, according to county administration, as the county works to solidify plans to provide transportation to the overflow shelter.
Jeremy Peterson, EMTA’s CEO, said conversations will take place next week on how to get people from the county who need to come into the city to visit the center.
Peterson said this is an exciting effort with public and private stakeholders coming together to combat the homeless issue in Erie.
“That’s what we do we’re transportation and when there’s stop gaps as far as transportation usually that is the number one stop gap to initiatives that are created countrywide initiatives are started but the gap as far as transportation is filled by people like us,” he explained.