County Code Blue Continues, Advocates Say More Support Needed for Otsego Unhoused

By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
ONEONTA

Over a stretch of ongoing deep cold starting the weekend of January 24, often dropping below 0℉, new discussions have arisen about local support for those without shelter.

When temperatures drop below 32℉, considered a “Code Blue,” New York State requires local governments with social services to take extra steps to ensure people have access to warm shelter. Otsego County is currently in Code Blue.

During the day, individuals have been able to seek shelter at two county buildings: 197 Main Street, Cooperstown and 140 County Highway 33W, Cooperstown. A warming station run by Catholic Charities with 10 cots is available at 291 Chestnut Street, Oneonta, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., when individuals have often been told to leave.

“When that is over capacity,” County Administrator Steve Wilson told AllOtsego, “when there’s more people than we can hire or have in there, we have other arrangements. Typically, we’ll move people into hotels.”

According to the Otsego County Department of Social Services, three hotels are being used in the county and two outside.

Wilson said the last data from a “point-in-time” count of unsheltered individuals in Otsego County, from January 2025, totaled 18 people.

According to DSS, around 30 people utilized their warming shelter and hotel support each of the last two weekends. From Friday, January 30, to the morning of Monday, February 2, the Chestnut Street warming shelter was also open continuously.

Advocates are saying the support is not enough. Confusion about the location of warming station options for the first weekend kicked off frustrations.

An announcement from the Otsego County Office of Emergency Services on January 22 ahead of a weather event covering much of the country listed the Oneonta Armory and SUNY Oneonta as warming shelters that “will open as necessary” should predicted conditions of wind chill approaching -20℉ materialize. But when people arrived at the armory, they were turned away, advocates told AllOtsego.

“They didn’t know any of this,” said Angela Eardley, who runs the Helping Hands Thrift Shop at First United Methodist Church at 66 Chestnut Street, Oneonta.

Her son, Anthony Eardley, began organizing to offer shelter at the church with support of the pastor, the Rev. Casey Bradley.

Bradley told AllOtsego the church had previously offered a handful of people a place to stay warm during the day, “but staying open 24/7, providing a place for people to sleep, providing meals for everybody, that’s not something we had done before.”

Around two dozen people ended up using the church for shelter over the course of the week, as advocates solicited donations and communicated with local officials about the situation. A Facebook fundraising campaign by Saturday’s Bread, an Oneonta hot meal program, has raised $3,663.00 to support the church’s efforts as of press time.

The outpouring of community support has also put a spotlight on the limited resources available to support the unhoused population, particularly during the winter.

“These people deserve to be people,” Anthony Eardley said in one of many Facebook livestreams where he has called for more support and offered sharp criticisms of local government over the last two weeks.

“Whenever there’s a big event, we have multiple agencies that are available and actively try to help people,” Wilson said. He added that there had already been some reviews of the county response and there will be more, “and we’ll probably discuss that in our February legislative meetings.”