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Warming-station operator urges Port Jervis to help establish daytime shelter for people experiencing homelessness
Summary
A volunteer leader from the St. Peter's Church warming station told the Port Jervis City Council the program has seen a roughly 40% rise in nightly users and asked the city to coordinate with the county and nonprofits on a daytime shelter and services.
Mr. Austin, administrative director of the warming station housed at St. Peter's Church, told the Port Jervis City Council during public comment that the program has seen a roughly 40% increase in nightly attendance and asked the city to take a leadership role in finding daytime shelter and services for people experiencing homelessness.
The speaker said nightly attendance has climbed to about 25 people from roughly 14 a year earlier, and that the warming station has operated at the St. Peter's location since February 2016. He said the program is nonresidential: guests sleep overnight but do not use the site as a residential address, though the station allows use of the site for DMV address purposes for ID applications.
Austin described the program as volunteer-run, with roughly 15 regular volunteers, nightly hot meals provided by a local family, and donated amenities including a shower and laundry hookup. He said the station is funded primarily by Orange County Code Blue funds but did not provide a separate, independently verified annual budget figure.
The speaker said the warming station provides optional wraparound services when funds allow — assistance with small prescriptions, phone cards, boots and the like — but that the core required service is an overnight cot and a hot meal. He said the program had assisted two veterans this winter with housing- and transportation-related needs.
Austin asked the council to consider working with Orange County and local nonprofits to identify daytime shelter locations and funding or staffing options. He suggested the Farnham House and the Port Jervis Recreation Center as possible sites and said Honor in Middletown (formerly an emergency housing provider) has committed to provide case-management staff if a daytime option is developed.
Council members asked follow-up questions about whether the warming station had engaged the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan Counties; Austin said they had not and accepted an offer from a council member to exchange contact information after the meeting. City and county staff also described a point-in-time homeless count scheduled for the coming week and a planning meeting to coordinate canvassing and counting in Port Jervis.
No formal action or vote on the warming-station request was recorded during the meeting.
