Community Leaders: Lack of Affordable Housing a Barrier for Homelessness

By CASSANDRA MILLER
ONEONTA

More than 100 people attended a public information session on homelessness on Thursday, March 6 at Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center. Community leaders and service providers discussed challenges such as a lack of affordable housing, as well as current activities, including collaborative approaches to identifying and helping individuals.

“I was really impressed with the event’s turnout and how positive it was; so many showed up from the community to learn together about homelessness in Oneonta,” said Oneonta Ward 1 Councilor Elayne Mosher Campoli, who serves on the Common Council’s Community Wellness Committee and the Greater Oneonta Homelessness Coalition. “I think it’s especially important for the public to know how hard our local nonprofits and other organizations are working to address homelessness, with limited and sometimes shrinking resources, and at the same time they are also collaborating to find long-term solutions that will be effective.

The event was the third in a series of public forums organized by the City of Oneonta around topics related to the future of the city. The first focused on childcare and the second on downtown promotion and small-business collaboration.

Panelists at the homelessness forum included Police Chief Chris Witzenburg, Family Services Association Executive Director Patricia Leonard, County Administrator Steve Wilson, Utica Center for Development and Oneonta Veterans Resource Center Chief Administrator Gary Flaherty, Catholic Charities of Delaware and Otsego Warming Station Program Director Jennifer Reynolds, Opportunities for Otsego Emergency Housing Assistance Program Manager Toya Lane, and Catholic Charities of Chenango County/SOS Director of Operations Jeff Chesebro.

Several panelists said one of the biggest challenges facing the Oneonta community is the lack of affordable housing. According to data from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, the 2025 fair market rental rate for a one-bedroom apartment in Otsego County is $957.00 per month. For many working residents, that cost is out of reach, contributing to housing instability.

“The Oneonta area tends to be the hardest to find affordable housing,” said Chesebro of Catholic Charities of Chenango County, which is a partner in a multi-county “Safe Options Support” grant with Otsego and Broome counties to fill the gaps of traditional homeless services.

This grant allows the three counties to work together to offer a long-term intensive level of case management and provide social work and clinical services “that wrap around that person so they have a complete spectrum of services around them,” Chesebro said.

Several panelists explained that the majority of homeless individuals in the area are people who are going through hard times and not necessarily suffering from drug addiction or mental health issues.

“Homeless people do have jobs; they just don’t make enough money,” said Lane of Opportunities for Otsego. “Prices are high, and people cannot find a place to live, and people are staying over 90 days [at the homeless shelter].”

Lane shared services that OFO offers in the community, including running the homeless shelter at 10-20 Depew Street, Head Start, the Weatherization Assistance Program, Rape Crisis Services, Aid to Battered Women, the Violence Intervention Program, a Food Bank, a Children’s Drop-In Daycare Center, and the Wheels to Work program.

“I think we paint people with a broad brush. You see someone who’s down on Main Street and you assume they’re homeless and an addict and you’re going to paint everyone with a broad brush,” said Reynolds, who oversees the warming station in Oneonta. “There are people at the warming station who are teaching your children, sitting next to you in church, and who have jobs.”

The warming station on Chestnut Street, which can provide a meal and a bed for 10 individuals each night, is one of several options for temporary shelter and basic amenities such as laundry and showers. The Family Services Association is two doors down from the warming station and offers a community clothing room and showers for those in need.

The homeless shelter in the Sixth Ward has 18 beds to house families. Otsego County has constructed six tiny homes, with four being added this year outside of Cooperstown, and last year invested $800,000.00 in supporting homeless individuals, according to County Administrator Steve Wilson.

“If we can’t find housing for folks who are eligible, we’ll send them anywhere we can get them, and that’s mostly hotels,” Wilson said, adding that Motel 88, Crossroads Inn, Jeannie’s Dream Motel in West Winfield, and the Budget Inn in Herkimer are regular options for housing individuals.

A new resource for the community is the veterans’ outreach center at the armory, which had a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, March 11. Veterans will be able to access a range of services, including a food bank, justice services, and support for homelessness, PTSD and mental health issues, and family relations. The Utica Center for Development and Oneonta Veterans Resource Center has rented space in the armory and will administer those services.

Oneonta Police Chief Chris Witzenburg said service providers and faith leaders have been meeting regularly to address homelessness and combine services on the Community Solutions Panel, which was formed in 2021 as a “result of many years of the police department looking at problems that we can’t arrest our way out of.”

Several panelists said that the collaboration between service providers and community leaders has been especially strong over the past few years.

“We’ve developed really good relationships across the community,” Witzenburg said. “Having the resources available to use every two weeks [from the Community Solutions Panel] and having officers have the ability to send officers to people who we might have hope for helping has been a big win for the community.”

Panelists emphasized a hopeful future for addressing homelessness in the area with support from the community.

“We truly, truly, truly depend on one another and the kindness of all of you,” Reynolds said.

All organizations are accepting donations, especially laundry supplies. For more information, Mayor Mark Drnek promised to share a list of resources on the city’s website and social media platforms. A full recording of the forum will soon be available from Otsego Media.