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Albany County renews multiple shelter and social-services contracts, ticking up service counts
Summary
The county approved renewals for multiple emergency and transitional shelters and service contracts (Mercy House, Altima/Schuyler Inn, Sheridan Avenue, South Berry Street, Merrilock family residence, and Altima employment services), with presenters citing bed counts, service volumes and funding splits; motions passed by voice vote.
Albany County’s Department of Social Services voted to renew a series of contracts and interdepartmental agreements for emergency and transitional shelter services, family shelter operations, employment services for TANF and SNAP recipients, and mandated substance-use screening.
Key renewals approved:
- Mercy House (authorization to renew): a 20-bed shelter serving adults; presenter reported a contract of $919,437 with funding split approximately 60% county, 36% state and 4% federal. The shelter provides three meals a day and case management services.
- Altima program (Schuyler Inn — family shelter): presenter said the family shelter served 124 families during the contract period and described meals and case management supports; the transcript lists a contract amount that appears garbled, so the contract total is not specified in the record and should be confirmed with county finance staff.
- Altima program (Thornton Avenue — single women): a 10-bed shelter that reported serving 36 unduplicated individuals; contract reported as $323,575 (63% county, 32% state, 5% federal).
- Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless — Sheridan Avenue Shelter: a 30-bed shelter with a reported contract of about $1,060,000 and a funding split of roughly 64% county, 32% state, 4% federal; presenters noted a 13% increase in unduplicated residents in 2024.
- Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless — South Berry Street Shelter (formerly Morton Avenue): a 20-bed shelter; presenter reported serving 81 unduplicated individuals in 2024 and listed a contract amount of $966,608 (funding ~61% county, 35% state, 4% federal).
- Saint Catherine Center for Children — Merrilock Family Residence: a tier 2 family shelter with 24 units; transcript reported the contract as up to $1,827,350 with funding 61% federal, 27% county and 12% state. Presenter said families’ stays vary depending on needs (sometimes 60 days, sometimes up to six months).
- Interdepartmental agreement for mandated substance-use screening: contract described as $250,000 to provide two full-time certified counselors to conduct mandated assessments; presenter said 12–15 assessments were completed in the cited period (transcript ambiguous on exact count).
- Altima employment services (TANF/SNAP recipients): presenter said the program engaged 2,124 clients between October 2024 and October 2025 (up 36% from the prior year) and that the contract is 100% federally funded, reported in the transcript as $434,700 (the transcript includes a duplicate prefix '404 $434,700'). The presenter said actual job placements average around four individuals per month and flagged ongoing SNAP reinstatement problems for some families.
All renewals and agreements described were approved by voice vote. Where the transcript contained unclear numeric values the article flags them for verification with county procurement/finance staff (for example, the family-shelter contract amount recorded in the transcript appears garbled).
