Mayor Sundquist addresses organizations for a homelessness meeting (March 1, 2023)

As two months remain for the two new emergency shelters in Jamestown to provide housing for the homeless, a group working on homelessness is looking at what’s next.

A group of faith-based organizations, social service groups, and other non-profits has been coordinated by Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist to discuss the issue of homelessness in the city.

At an meeting on March 1, the Joy Fellowship and Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County provided an update on how their emergency shelters have been operating. Both facilities are only open during Code Blue situations, where the overnight temperature drops below 32 degrees.

MHA Executive Director Steven Cobb said he feels very positive about how things have gone with the shelters, “Today we have celebrated some of the successes we’ve had in providing housing with our Code Blue shelters in Jamestown, both at the MHA and Joy Fellowship. They’ve been very successful. And I think the other positive thing I leave here with is that there is a lot of support in the community to continue this and figure out what comes next.”

Cobb said there was a negative realization over the last couple months, “The folks we are serving in these shelters have enormous needs and at this point in the community we might not have all the resources we need to have in place to foster continued success for the folks in our community who are experiencing homelessness.”

MHA Project Manager Sean Jones said since January 6, there have been 142 individuals who have stayed at the MHA shelter.

Both facilities said they are in need for food donations, especially frozen meals, fresh fruit, yogurt, and milk. They also said donations of sturdy shoes and backpacks for adults are needed.

For more information about donations, contact Joy Fellowship at 716-484-1542 and the MHA at 716-661-9044.

Hawkeye previously wrote “Buddhist Boot Camp” and his memoir “Faithfully Religionless.” He also produces a podcast.

Hawkeye said he’ll open by briefly talking about his book “The Opposite of Namaste,” and then move into a group discussion, “What people can expect is a very non-confrontational conversation where you can just sit and observe and listen, or you can engage and ask questions, and direct the conversation where you want it to go. That’s why I show up and don’t know. It’s not like I have a spiel like, ‘This is what we’re going to talk about.’ It’s like, here are some tools that I still use today that help me and is there a scenario in which you think this wouldn’t work and let’s figure out what might.”

MHA Project Manager Sean Jones said “Buddhist Bootcamp” has been used as a tool at the MHA in recovery groups.

The free event starts at 7:00 p.m. at the MHA, which is located at 31 Water Street, Door 14 in Jamestown.
For more information, call Sean Jones at 716-490-1048.

City Council Public Forum held September 14, 2022

Questions and opinions on how to deal with the rising homeless population in Jamestown were raised during City Council‘s public forum on Wednesday.

Several questions were raised about what is being done about the homeless people under the North Main Street viaduct and for homeless women and children.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said many people don’t realize there are only two shelters in Jamestown, with one housing men and the other housing women and children of domestic violence.

He said a census of homeless people in Jamestown has revealed new challenges, “Many years, that has been about 25 to 30 people. In the last several months, we have now seen an increase of over 70 people or more in just certain areas. So, it has risen rapidly across the city. In many cases it’s visible. We’ve always had homelessness, let’s be clear about that, it has not been as visible as it has been.”

Sundquist said the end of the COVID-19 eviction moratorium has led to increased evictions and movement of people to Jamestown.

He said he had met with over 60 local pastors Tuesday night along with council members to discuss homelessness.

Sundquist said in talking with other cities, that when faith leaders and resource providers work together, they’ve been able to tackle issues like emergency sheltering, getting resources to people, and, ultimately, getting people off the street, “That’s a model we’re trying to do right here in the city of Jamestown. And in the next two weeks we’ll be bringing both those groups together to start to look at that model. Because we’re afraid when winter comes, when the snow comes, we’re going to start to see people in abandoned homes. We’re going to potentially see people dead on the street. And that’s something we do not want to happen.”

Police Chief Tim Jackson said on every shift, officers having been meeting with the people taking shelter under the North Main Street viaduct to try to move them along while also handing out informational pamphlets about resources available for help.

Several comments were made by audience members about not wanting to give “hand outs, but hand ups” to homeless people, including not offering food to homeless but instead donating money and food to shelters and food pantries.

Mental Health Association Project Manager Sean Jones spoke up, saying “there are no hand outs in town” and that the MHA works with the homeless on a daily basis, “We help them navigate the system through the town. If there is a hand-out, yes, sometimes we give them a sandwich or a cup of coffee, but that’s how we build trust with them so they will trust us to then go through the process. And one of the things we have to go through is when we bring them to their appointment, they can sign up for help to get housing, to get food, to get medical assistance, to get a lot of different things.”

Jones said there are rules involved with getting this help, so if a participant is late or misses an appointment, they can be sanctioned for 45 days where they have to wait that entire time in order to reapply for services.

Sheriff Jim Quattrone, who had previously worked with a homeless ministry, said when it comes to homeless issues, one size doesn’t fit all, “There are some people that need that hand-out. They need it right now to survive. But then we need to do a rehabilitation. And how we talk to them, ‘How do you see yourself improving? What do you need now to survive? What do you need for the next month to survive? And then moving forward, the month after that?’ And then we have to have a development. It’s kind of like, give a fish, feed them for a day, teach them to fish, feed them for a lifetime.”

Quattrone said people should try visiting somewhere like St. Susan Center to have a non-judgmental conversation with those who are homeless or food insecure. He added that while there are a lot of resources in Chautauqua County, he’s been meeting monthly with area groups to learn what gaps need to be filled.

WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley spoke with best selling author of Buddhist Boot Camp,Timber Hawkeye, and Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County‘s Sean Jones about Timber’s upcoming visit to MHA.

The art show takes place at 7:00 p.m., Saturday, August 27.

The artists are participants in the weekly Art in Recovery classes offered by the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County (MHA). The classes are presented as an opportunity for “an artistic expression of your own personal recovery through painting and drawing.”

The exhibit was created last year to raise awareness for International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31. With Art in Recovery classes now being held at both MHA’s Jamestown and Dunkirk locations, this year’s showing will have works from across Chautauqua County.

The event is free and open to the public. Light hors d’oeuvres will be served.

The exhibit can also be viewed on Sunday, August 28, before or after the 10 a.m. Recovery Sunday worship service at St. Luke’s, when MHA Certified Peer Specialist Sean Jones will be the guest preacher.

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Sean Jones (Left) and Marcus Stendahl

UPMC Chautauqua’s Outpatient Chemical Dependency (OPCD) unit received a grant in 2017 to help the hospital deal with treating opioid addiction in the greater-Jamestown community. The grant falls under what is called Medically Assisted Treatment – Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction (MAT-PDOA).

To offer our listeners details about the MAT-PDOA program and the services that are provided, WRFA welcomed into the studio Marcus Stendahl, program coordinator at UPMC Chautauqua, and Sean Jones from the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County.

Stendahl says that funding for MAT-PDOA serves two purposes. It allows OPCD to expand counseling services, MAT services, and also educate/train staff in several modalities to support recovery by also dealing with past trauma.  It also allows UPMC to participate in a multi-state, longitudal study which is voluntary for MAT patients to participate in and which reviews if there is a deficit in any area of a patients life that may have lead to an increased risk of substance use.

Stendahl and Jones also talked about the important role that the family, friends and community plays in helping individuals recover from addiction.  Part of the effort to educate those people is provided through the Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Training (CRAFT) program.

More information about MAT PDOA services offered by UPMC Chautauqua are available by calling Marcus Stendahl at 664-8596 or by visiting the Chemical Dependency & Outpatient Mental Health Programs page at the UPMC Chautauqua Website.

For more information about the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County, call 661-9044 or visit the MHA website or Facebook page.

• MORE DETAILS ON BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES OFFERED BY UPMC CHAUTAUQUA
• MORE DETAILS ON COMMUNITY REINFORCEMENT APPROACH AND FAMILY TRAINING (CRAFT)

On the Oct. 15 presentation of Community Matters, WRFA public affairs director Jason Sample talks with Jason Toczydlowski from the Jamestown Chamber of Commerce to get more details about Restaurant Week 2015. Also featured in the interview is Sean Jones from Valhalla Restaurant and Judy Sandson from the Harvest Cafe… both located in Jamestown, NY.

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37 restaurants from all over Chautauqua County are participating in Restaurant Week.  All are members of the Chamber of Commerce and have worked to provide some special offerings for patrons during the event. Here is a list of participating restaurants by community:

• Ashville:  Ashville General Store
• Bemus Point:  Coppola’s Pizzaria
• Celoron:  Main Landing Restaurant
• Dunkirk:  Windjammer’s at the Clarion Hotel, Fireside Manor, Jenna’s 4th Street Café, Pizza Hut, Pizza Village
• Dewittville:  Village Restaurant
• Falconer:  Belle-View East
• Fredonia:  Domus Fare, Fred’s Food Service, Squire’s Table at the White Inn
• Greenhurst:  Coach’s Chatterbox, Steener’s Pub
• Irving:  Colony Seafood & Steakhouse, Tom’s Family Restaurant
• Jamestown:  Brazil Craft Beer and Wine Lounge, Brick City Market, Forte, Fresco Pizza &
• Wings, Gialy’s Restaurant, Harvest Time Café, Havana Cuban Café, Jones Valhalla, Landmark Restaurant, Pizza Hut, Shawbucks Press Room
• Lakewood:  Southern Tier Brewing Company
• Mayville:  Andriaccio’s Family Restaurant, Chautauqua Harbor House, J & B Mayville Diner, Lakeview Hotel and The Docks, Olive’s at Chautauqua Suites, Webb’s Captain’s Table
• Westfield:  Jimmy’s Pizza, Parkview Café

Restaurant Week 2015 is sponsored by CHQ Local Food, Sam’s Club and the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce.  It runs from October 19-25.  Residents are being encouraged to go to at least 3 different restaurants this week to show their support.

You can learn more at www.CHQRestWeek.com or follow CHQ Restaurant Week on Facebook and Twitter.