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Residents press Sullivan County to approve gateway housing grant amid concerns about homelessness
Summary
Multiple residents urged the Sullivan County Health and Human Services Committee and legislature to accept grant funding and move forward on a gateway housing project, arguing it would provide wraparound services for people experiencing homelessness and criticizing perceived delays.
Several residents used the meeting’s public-comment period to urge the county to proceed with a proposed gateway housing project and to accept associated grant funding.
Speakers described stable, wraparound housing as essential to address homelessness and emphasized that gateway housing would link residents to services (including behavioral health and employment supports). One speaker, identifying herself as a community organizer from Monticello, said that even if the project saves a small number of lives it is worth proceeding and warned that officials who delay action would bear moral responsibility if people die on the streets.
Another public speaker said Sullivan County is among the state’s poorest counties and argued the county has prioritized projects that did not benefit vulnerable residents; that commenter urged the legislature not to let “a cling to power” prevent acceptance of grant money for the gateway housing project. Multiple speakers said the grant application and project remain active and that losing the grant would be a setback; county staff responded in the meeting that the grant process was still underway and that officials were continuing to work on it.
Committee response and context
A committee member noted the grant is not finalized and staff confirmed work on the application is continuing. Committee leaders acknowledged the urgency expressed by public commenters and said the matter remains under active consideration. No committee vote on the gateway housing project occurred during this meeting; public comments were recorded during the committee’s public-comment period and staff said further legislative action or an executive decision would be needed to finalize grant acceptance or project approval.
Public-comment excerpts and context
- A community organizer from Monticello emphasized wraparound services in gateway housing and said, in public comment, that stable housing is a basic right and that elected officials will be held accountable if people die while unhoused this summer. - Another resident said the county’s prior major projects (casino, jail, airport) had not delivered widespread local benefits and urged decision-makers not to let political considerations prevent approving the gateway housing grant.
Next steps
County staff said the grant was still under consideration and that committee and legislative follow-up would be required to finalize any acceptance or to move the project forward. Speakers asked the committee to treat homelessness as a crisis requiring immediate action.
