The funding through the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance‘s Homeless Housing and Assistance Program will go toward replacing an obsolete heating system at its 17-unit, 29-bed emergency shelter in Jamestown.

United Christian Advocacy Network City Mission Executive Director Aaron Wadin said, “This is a huge blessing and an answer to prayer as it will allow us to continue to serve our guests in a warm shelter during these winter months, as well as providing air-conditioning in the building, for the first time in the history of this mission here in Jamestown, during the hot summer months.”

The Homeless Housing Assistance Program provides capital grants and loans to not-for-profit corporations, charitable and religious organizations, and municipalities to acquire, construct, or rehabilitate housing for persons who are unable to secure adequate housing without special assistance.

The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance and Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence announced that more than $350,000 has been awarded to implement comprehensive services for victims and survivors of domestic violence who need assistance accessing child support.

The funding will enable the State’s Child Support Services program to work with New York City and 12 counties on developing and testing new approaches to ensuring all New Yorkers can safely pursue child support.

New York was one of 13 sites nationwide to recently receive funding through a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families’ Safe Access for Victims’ Economic Security (SAVES) demonstration grant. The overall goal of the grant is to increase safe access to child support and related services for victims and survivors of domestic violence.

With this funding, several critical stakeholders will be brought together to develop revised policies, processes and training that ensures all parents, especially domestic violence survivors, can safely seek child support services.

The pilot program will implement and test the effectiveness of the revisions over the next five years.

This effort will involve the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance and experts from the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, working collaboratively with local partners and others to help develop and implement comprehensive policies and procedures for:
– Establishing paternity
– Implementing child support and visitation orders
– Modifying and enforcing existing orders
– Connecting victims/survivors to essential support services
– Identifying and mitigating disparities in access caused by victimization
– And adopting case management strategies to manage interactions with parents who have used violence

The selected counties will then implement these changes as part of a pilot project to test their effectiveness and make further adjustments as needed.

Find more information on New York’s Child Support Services program at https://childsupport.ny.gov.

Chautauqua Opportunities Inc. presents to Jamestown Planning Commission (September 20, 2022)

The Jamestown Planning Commission has approved the site plan for a new women’s homeless shelter in downtown Jamestown.

Chautauqua Opportunities Inc. will operate the facility to be located at 303 Lafayette Street. The facility will be able to shelter 18 women and is only for women age 18 and older.

COI officials said they hope to go to bid on the project in a couple of weeks. It’s being funded through a $2.49 million grant from the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.

The Planning Commission also has resumed discussions about establishing a Local Preservation Ordinance.

City Principal Planner Ellen Shadle said the ordinance would be part of the City’s zoning provision.
She said when it came to things like replacing older windows with vinyl windows or putting up siding, it depended on what was in the design standards, “And the design standards are not part of the ordinance. So the design standards.. you can’t create design standards without the ordinance authorizing their creation. And the ultimate design standards can be whatever you want to a certain extent.”

Shadle said those standards are created by a community member Preservation Board.

She said if the Planning Commission approved an LPO, it would then go to City Council for approval.

Commission Chair John LaMancuso confirmed that despite Federal Historic District designations, a historic district under an LPO doesn’t exist unless City Council designates an area as a historic district, “Nothing is a historic district until City Council says it’s a historic district. And we could adopt this as a city and city council could say, ‘Oh, well we don’t think that any place should be a historic district. We don’t want to burden people in this way,’ or maybe, ‘We want this block to be historic that includes the Jackson Center,’ or whatever. So a lot of this comes down to City Council which I think is very appropriate.”

LaMancuso requested additional information on the benefits to the city in implementing an LPO. There was no other action on the LPO.

Renderings for proposed new Salvation Army ANEW Center

The Jamestown Planning Commission has approved a site plan for the Salvation Army’s ANEW center while tabling site plans for Chautauqua Opportunities‘ Women’s Homeless Shelter.

The site plan approval for the Salvation Army facility is contingent on approval by City Department of Development staff.

The Salvation Army received $3.8 million to relocate and build a new homeless shelter for women and children. The new two-story building will have seven units and 19 beds. This $4.8 million project will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, create six additional beds and allows services staff to have offices in the same building.

The money is being administered by the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance through the Homeless Housing and Assistance Program.

The Planning Commission, under staff recommendation, tabled COI’s site plan for 303 Lafayette Street until September in order to further review building plans.

The facility will be able to shelter 18 women. It’s being funded through a $2.49 million grant from the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.

Chautauqua Opportunities Director of Housing Josiah Lamp, speaking at a City Council meeting in February, said the City of Jamestown also is providing a $110,000 match through Community Development Block Grant funds. He said operating funds will come from the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services as well as from Chautauqua Opportunities.

The funding is part of $46 million distributed by the state for its Summer Youth Employment program.

The state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance administers the program which introduces young people from low-income families into the labor market so they can develop useful skills that will help them improve school performance and become responsible adults.

The Summer Youth Employment program supports communities across the state in creating summer jobs for youth from low-income families, including communities where youth are vulnerable or susceptible to gun violence. Participants work in entry-level jobs at places such as parks, nursing homes, summer camps, childcare organizations, senior citizen centers and community recreation centers, among others.

To be eligible for the 2022 program, young people must be ages 14 to 20 and have a household income below 200 percent of the federal poverty level or $46,060 for a family of three. Employers can use the funds to subsidize wages, support education and training activities, as well as offer case management and employment-related services, such as transportation to and from work. Young people interested in participating can contact their local department of social services.

The program served more than 18,500 young people last year, providing them with valuable workforce experience, and often results in improved academic performance afterward.

Chautauqua Opportunities’ Director of Housing Josiah Lamp presents to Jamestown City Council

Jamestown City Council heard a presentation on the proposed homeless shelter for women to be located in downtown Jamestown.

Chautauqua Opportunities Director of Housing Josiah Lamp said the facility, which will be able to shelter 18 women, would be located at 303 Lafayette Street.

It’s being funded through a $2.49 million grant from the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Lamp said the City of Jamestown also is providing a $110,000 match through Community Development Block Grant funds. He said operating funds will come from the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services as well as from Chautauqua Opportunities.

Lamp said the first floor, which was formerly a laundromat, will be community space, “A lobby, there will be a secure entrance, and there will be a computer lab where the women can come in and look for housing, they can use that to look for employment. Then there will also be a laundry facility, storage facility, and then office space for our staff to work with them while they’re in shelter.”

Lamp said the second and third floors will have fully adaptable units with elevator access. He said the building will be secured through fob entry for the main entrance as well as for each unit. The facility also will be staff 24-7 by Housing Support Services employees.

Council member at Large Jeff Russell commented that there’s a definite need for this kind of shelter and that it’s long overdue. He asked Lamp if the women sheltered there would be just from Jamestown or from outside the area, including outside of the county. Lamp said the need is largest in Jamestown and that he doesn’t ever see anyone from outside the area being placed there.

The renovation of the Lafayette Street building is anticipated to begin this Fall with completion by July 2023.

$150 million in heating utility assistance has been announced by New York State.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the funding will help low-income households that have fallen behind on their utility bills during the COVID-19 pandemic. Administered by the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the regular arrears supplement is available to households who are eligible for the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) and behind on their heating utility bills, but that do not qualify for the utility assistance offered by New York’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

Federal funding will cover all accumulated heating utility arrears up to $10,000 and comes as the end of the moratorium on utility disconnections approaches in late December.

About 83,000 HEAP recipients had fallen behind on their utility bills as of March 2021, with these households owing an average arrears of about $1,370, or roughly $113 million statewide. While the Emergency Rental Assistance Program is providing utility arrears assistance for eligible renters, homeowners and those who do not owe rent arrears do not qualify for this assistance, including customers of municipally owned utilities.

The Chautauqua County Department of Social Services is accepting applications for assistance and can be reached at (716) 753-4385.

Households across the New York can begin applying for heating assistance this winter through New York’s Home Energy Assistance Program – Also known as HEAP – today. HEAP is a federally-funded program that provides up to $650 for eligible households to pay for energy costs in order to keep their homes warm during the winter. It is overseen by the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA).

For the first time, anyone living outside of New York City who is seeking a regular HEAP benefit will be able to submit applications online at myBenefits.ny.gov.

For the 2013-14 HEAP heating season, the maximum regular benefit a household could receive is $650.

Eligibility for HEAP is based on income and household size, ranging from 1 to 8 or more. For example, a household of one individual needs to have a monthly gross income of less than $2,175 to qualify; while a household of four would need a monthly gross income of $4,182 or less to qualify.

Complete guidelines can be found on the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance website.