By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 September 2016 at 2:24 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Students in Kim Toombs’ Introduction to Technology and Careers class, including Alexa Grandy in yellow shirt, made 90 ponchos for breast cancer patients.
The eighth-graders at Albion Middle School also are working on 100 post-surgery pillows, and 50 smaller pillows. They will be delivered by the class of 22 students next Friday on a field trip to the Pluta Cancer Center through Strong Memorial Hospital, the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester, and Highland Hospital in Rochester.
Kim Toombs, right, gives pointers for making a poncho to student Leeanna Montanarella. Toombs is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed in July 2014. After surgery, she completed chemotherapy and radiation in January 2015.
“This is a service-learning project where kids give to the community and not always be on the receiving end,” Toombs said.
It’s also a chance for the teacher to give back to the Pluta Cancer Center, the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester, and Highland Hospital, where she received care.
Annalise Steier works on one of the ponchos. Students in Toombs’ class last year made 70 ponchos. But this year the students have been fast learners and eager to work on the projects. That allowed Toombs to boost the number of ponchos to 90.
Maurice Taylor Jr. shows two of the pillows and Quinn McCue wears one of the ponchos made by the class.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 September 2016 at 6:51 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Town of Albion Highway Department is running a 160-foot-long 8-inch water main that will link Water District #6 with districts #2 and #3.
The town ran a waterline that connected with a 12-inch main that was a dead end on Route 31, just east of Gaines Basin Road. Water District #6 also stopped on the other side of Gaines Basin. The town spent three days with help from other municipalities to run an 8-inch water line, connecting the districts.
Albion had to cut across Gaines Basin and that section will be repaved to Route 31 next month, Town Highway Superintendent Michael Neidert said. (This photo was taken on Wednesday afternoon when the section of Gaines Basin Road near 31 was put back together and cleaned up.)
The waterline will also be tested and should be activated next week after tests from the Health Department.
The line provides a backup source of water for the nursing home and other users on Route 31 from near the village line heading west to near Wal-Mart.
Besides the Albion town crews, highway workers from Carlton and the Orleans County Highway Department assisted with the project.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 September 2016 at 7:07 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Brandon Annable, a new sergeant for the Albion Police Department, takes the office on Wednesday evening during the Albion Village Board meeting. Village Clerk Linda Babcock, left, administers the oath while Annable’s wife Tracy holds the Bible. Police Chief Roland Nenni is second from right and Lt. David Mogle is at right. Deputy Mayor Eileen Banker is in back.
Annable has worked for the Albion PD for five years as a patrolman. He started his career as a part-time officer in Middleport and Barker eight years ago and then worked for the Transit Police in Buffalo. He welcomed the chance to return to a village police force.
Brandon Annable said he enjoys working in a small town, compared to a bigger city.
“I wanted to work in a small town where you’re not just a number,” he said Wednesday after the swearing-in.
Annable has proven an asset to the Albion police, providing leadership and serving as one of the field training officers for younger officers who join the department, said Police Chief Roland Nenni.
Albion’s Police Department has become younger recently with several retirements of long-time officers. Nathaniel Staines, Guy Burke and Daryl Robb are all new hires, and the department has one more opening to fill.
The department has 13 officers when it’s at full strength. Annable said he likes that his promotion isn’t an administrative-only job. He will still be out doing patrols.
Nenni said the union for the police officers and Village Board recently amended the officers’ contract where they work 12-hour shifts. That has cut down on overtime while boosting their base pay.
“It’s had zero impact on the budget and it allows officers to have more time off,” Nenni said.
Sgt. Brandon Annable’s parents, Audrey and Ross, were part of the swearing-in. Annable’s mother pinned on the collar brass and his father pinned on his son’s badge.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 September 2016 at 8:51 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers
GAINES – Workers at Kast Farms on Zig-Zag Road wait to be treated by medical personnel after they were exposed to an insecticide this afternoon at the farm.
Kast Farms had sprayed the chemical on a field, and some of the insecticide drifted over to an orchard where workers were picking apples.
Some of them complained of numbness and nauseous. The farm they called for medical attention at about 2:30 p.m.
Jeremy Graham, Albion’s deputy fire chief, was among the firefighters who responded to the call. He arrived to find two or three of the farmworkers vomiting.
Firefighters used soap and water to decontaminate the workers, who were transported by ambulance to United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia, and Rochester General and Strong Memorial in Rochester.
The workers changed out of their clothes into Tyvek suits so they wouldn’t bring clothes with chemicals to the hospital.
Graham said the protocol for hazardous materials calls for the workers to be observed in a hospital for 12 hours in case there are any late onset symptoms.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is expected at the scene on Thursday to remove water used in the decontamination of the workers.
Graham said Kast Farms managers and owners were at the scene and showed concern for the workers, calling for medical attention when there were signs of possible illness.
There were several first responders on scene, including three ambulances from Monroe Ambulance, two from Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance and one from Medina Fire Department.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 September 2016 at 3:22 pm
Benefit for Chris Caldwell set for Sunday at Ridgeway Fire Hall
Photos by Tom Rivers: Chris Caldwell does a push-up on Tuesday. He works hard in physical therapy and doing daily exercises to regain strength and mobility. His left leg was amputated from just above the knee.
ALBION – Chris Caldwell greets people with a smile and a firm handshake. He is upbeat despite a painful path to recovery after being critically injured about a year ago.
Caldwell was hit by a car on Harrison Road in Shelby on Sept. 7, 2015. The vehicle may have been going 45 miles per hour. Caldwell, 38, was hit from behind while walking on the road. His head hit the windshield and his body went flying.
First responders weren’t optimistic he would survive after he was struck that day. He was flown by Mercy Flight to Erie County Medical Center, where doctors also were grim in predicting Caldwell’s future.
His left leg was shattered and became infected. Doctors tried to save the leg but were forced to amputate it from below the knee on Sept. 25.
Caldwell, who had worked a decade as a heavy equipment operator for C.P. Ward in Rochester, was clinging for his life. He suffered a traumatic brain injury. His ribs on the left side were all broken. He had a collapsed lung. His left arm was also shattered, and he suffered other injuries, including fractured vertebrae.
His mother remembers seeing him the first time at ECMC, looking lifeless with tubes and bandages, and a worry permeating his hospital room.
She knelt by her son and told him to keep fighting, to stay alive for his two sons: Christopher, now 13; and Jackson, 9.
Caldwell’s eyes flickered open at his mother’s words. She prayed for him then, asking God for healing and for strength for the family in the days ahead.
Chris Caldwell is pictured with his mother, Ida Caldwell. She said it is a miracle her son survived and has recovered as much as he has.
Caldwell has rebounded, although he has a ways to go. He left the hospital on Dec.17, about 3 ½ months after the accident. He attends physical therapy three times a week in Brockport. He does daily stretches and exercises.
He remembers when he couldn’t hold a glass of water with his left hand. Now he can do push-ups.
“He’s so motivated to make progress,” said his mother, who works as a program coordinator for the advocacy program at The Arc of Orleans.
Caldwell fell twice on Monday. He was frustrated and he said it’s hard to get back up when he falls.
“It’s easier to walk standing up,” he said with a smile.
His recovery has been slowed by the brain injury. The blow to the head damaged the area of the brain that controls mobility. Caldwell is learning to walk all over again, with only one leg this time.
Caldwell grew up in Albion. He was living in his own home in Shelby when he was hit by Danielle Conrad, who was driving drunk on Sept. 7. She was sentenced in April to 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison for vehicular assault.
In April, Caldwell suffered sepsis, a potentially life-threatening infection.
In February he was denied Social Security short-term disability benefits because officials there believed he could recover in time to be working within a year, his mother said.
She is hopeful her son will continue to make progress. She is thankful for his recovery so far.
“God has carried us,” Ida Caldwell said. “He answered our prayers. He got us through it.”
Caldwell’s friends and family have planned a fund-raiser for this Sunday from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company, 11392 Ridge Rd., Medina.
There will be a basket raffle, silent auction, music and food. The benefit will go towards Caldwell’s continued medical care.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 September 2016 at 7:32 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
Local officials joined Ben DeGeorge of the DeGeorge Property Group on Friday for a ribbon-cutting and open house for the Orleans Business Center, a new business incubator at the Arnold Gregory Office Complex, a former hospital on South Main Street in Albion.
The following are pictured, from left: Jamaal Stevens, vice president of operations for DeGeorge; Ben DeGeorge; Donna Saskowski, executive director of The Arc of Orleans and Genesee ARC (a tenant at Arnold Gregory); State Assemblyman Steve Hawley; Diane Blanchard, manager of the Microenterprise Assistance Program in Orleans County; State Sen. Robert Ortt; and Michael Kracker, deputy chief of staff for Congressman Chris Collins.
DeGeorge bought the building from Ray Lissow in December 2014. DeGeorge said Lissow was creative in redeveloping the former hospital hospital, a 56,000-square-foot building that closed in the late 1980s.
The building is now home to 16 different tenants, including six that have moved to Arnold Gregory in the past year. The new incubator is in the suite that was used by Dr. John Thompson, a family physician who has moved out of the area.
The Orleans Business Center has 4,000 square feet. There are rooms for 10 to 12 units who can share a copier, signage, WiFi, a conference room and a gym.
Samantha Marchincin, left, is the first tenant in the Orleans Business Center. She is pictured with Diana Blanchard, manager of the Microenterprise Assistance Program.
Marchincin took the 10-week small business training program run by MAP last spring. She has started a business, Muze, that offers social media services for musicians.
The 200 square feet of space in the incubator “is just perfect for me,” she said. She wanted a low-cost physical space for the business. If Muze grows, she said she would like for a bigger location.
That is the goal of the incubator, to offer professional space to a new business. DeGeorge and economic development officials hope the business will outgrow the incubator and settle into a storefront or bigger office space.
“This is an affordable business startup,” Blanchard said.
She is also using the Arnold Gregory for weekly classes for the MAP class after meeting in the Hoag Library in Albion. Arnold Gregory is more of a business setting and the MAP class has access to a bigger classroom space, with a bathroom and kitchenette, Blanchard said.
Some of the other tenants at Arnold Gregory include The Arc of Orleans Rainbow Preschool, Catholic Charities, Dr. Rumble (dentist), Lake Plains Medical (doctor’s office), Restore, Neil Lewis (chiropractor), Different Strokes Massage, utility company field office, Miracle Ear, Pathstone, Northpoint Chapel, Mental Health Association of Genesee and Orleans Counties, Keeler Construction, Venture Forth (home care agency) and New Direction Youth and Family Services.
The Arc also opened a coffee and snack shop in the the lobby by the main entrance last year. DeGeorge said about 275 people visit the building each day.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 September 2016 at 4:47 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – It’s still early, but a big crowd has turned out for the spaghetti dinner and basket raffle to benefit a memorial scholarship in honor of Brandon Bruski. St. Mary’s Athletic Club on Moore Street is hosting the benefit.
Bruski, who was 18 when he was killed in a car accident about a decade ago. His mother, Bonnie Velez, has been awarding a $250 fine arts scholarship to a graduating senior the past nine years.
Brandon graduated from Albion in 2006. He was a hard worker with a creative side. He enjoyed art. He had just finished his first year at Monroe Community College, when he fell asleep while driving and was in a fatal crash. He was also working with his mother at the Bonduelle vegetable packing facility in Brockport.
Marsha Gaddis of Albion looks over some of the gift baskets at the scholarship benefit today. There are about 100 baskets up for raffle. The benefit continues until 7 p.m.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 September 2016 at 11:50 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Enoch Martin has an “Albion Batman” painted on his face while he was part of the pep band during the Albion homecoming game vs. Depew.
Albion cheerleaders and the Eagle mascot rooted for the Purple Eagles during their game vs. Depew in front of the big Homecoming crowd.
Albion graduates Marissa Olles (Class of 2000) and Crystal Hollenbeck (Class of 2001) sold popcorn and Albion High School merchandise from the alumni booth at the football game.
Bruce Landis took this group photo of the Class of 2017.
Provided photo: The Homecoming royalty was crowned during the pep rally this afternoon. The group includes, from left: King/Queen – Sam Slick, Vivian Rivers; Prince/Princess – Demetrius Gardner, Natalie DiCuriea; Duke/Dutchess – Connor McQuillan, Brylie Hapeman; and Lord/Lady – Chase Froman, Kendall Derisley.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 September 2016 at 1:32 pm
Albion, Kendall and Medina all mark festive week
Photos by Tom Rivers: Albion is celebrating Homecoming this week and today started off with the hall decorating contest among the four high school classes. Seniors used an Alice in Wonderland theme to create “Senior Land.” This photo shows Class President Emily Blanchard serving as a guide, leading judges into the hall. Bella Prest, back left, and Kastriot Bela are dressed as cards.
Skyler Smith, a senior, serves tea (actually a cookie with candy) to the judges (Board of Education member Steve LaLonde is at left) as they make their way down the seniors’ hall.
Albion seniors painted this van, owned by senior Donato Rosario’s father, last night and parked the vehicle on the front lawn of the school today as part of the Homecoming celebration at Albion.
Photos courtesy of Marlene Seielstad: Victor Benjovsky and Riley Seielstad, members of the junior class, welcome judges in viewing their hall decorating theme set to Hogwarts and Harry Potter.
One of the banners by the junior class includes Simboli’s Owl Emporium for Gary Simboli, a popular music and drama teacher in the high school.
Medina, Kendall and Roy-Hart are also celebrating Homecoming this week, and Lyndonville’s Homecoming is next week. Holley and Barker have Homecoming Oct. 2-8.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 September 2016 at 7:14 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – There was a car show on Sept. 10 at Bullard Park that was a benefit for Hospice of Orleans County. There were 41 vintage vehicles at the event and the Masonic Lodge from Albion served food with proceeds donated to Hospice.
Cars are on display during last year’s show at Bullard Park.
On Tuesday, checks for $2,522 total were presented to Hospice. Pictured in top photo, from left, include: Timothy McGee, senior warden for the Masons; Mike Gillette, the lodge’s master; Becky Karls, organizer of the car show; Mary Anne Fischer, Hospice executive director; David Mitchell, sponsor of the car show; and Tim Irwin, secretary for the Masonic Lodge.
Karls has organized the car shows for Hospice the past four years. Fischer said the funds would likely go towards Hospice’s supportive care program for patients who receive care and treatment in their own homes.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 September 2016 at 9:12 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
Strawberry Festival Committee Co-Chairman Michael Bonafede, left, reads a certificate of appreciation that was presented Tuesday evening to the Albion Lions Cub for their support of the festival. Bonafede was joined by Karen Sawicz, second from from left, in presenting the certificate. She is a co-chair of the festival committee along with Don Bishop. Lions Club members include, front row, from left: John Keding, Mary Janet Sahukar (president), Lloyd Wright and Bill Robinson. Back row: Kevin Howard, Satya Sahukar, Sandy Church, Chris Buorgiorne, Dale Brooks, Ron Albertson and Dan Parker.
ALBION – In the three decades of the Albion Strawberry Festival, the Lions Club has always stepped up as a supporter. The club is a sponsor of the annual event the second Friday and Saturday in June. Club members also sell their popular sausage up near the Post Office.
Leaders of the Strawberry Festival Committee stopped by the Lions Club meeting on Tuesday and presented a certificate of appreciate to the members, including Club President Mary Janet Sahukar.
Michael Bonafede and Karen Sawicz, festival co-chairs, presented the certificate to the Lions. Bonafede said it takes many volunteers, and the support of local governments, businesses and service clubs to pull off the Strawberry Festival.
“We’re very fortunate that our festival continues, because in many others communities it hasn’t,” Bonafede said. “People are generous with their money and time, and that’s how we survive.”
Provided photo: American Legion Sheret Post #35 Commander Wally Skrypnik is pictured with a large bronze plaque memorializing 24 area soldiers who died during World War I. Skrypnik is pictured with Albion seventh graders Leah Pritchard, center, and Emily Harling. The seventh grade service learning class is working on having the memorial placed at Mount Albion Cemetery.
Albion Middle School seventh grade Service Learning students have received a valuable World War I memorial plaque and they need some help to display it in the community for others to enjoy.
American Legion Sheret Post #35 donated the large 3-by-5-foot bronze plaque memorializing 24 WWI soldiers from Albion, Barre, Carlton and Gaines. The plaque has been displayed in various indoor locations, but was most recently in storage, not visible to the public.
After being impressed by the students work last year on area Civil War soldiers, the local American Legion Post felt it fitting to donate the plaque to the hard-working students as the 100th anniversary of the United States entrance into WW I approaches next year.
“I know they will do a respectful and fitting job of displaying the plaque,” Legion Commander Wally Skrypnik said. “We trust them with this important piece of local history and I think they will learn a lot as they study this significant time period.”
The Village of Albion gave approval on Wednesday to the student group to display the plaque at Mt. Albion Cemetery. Mayor Dean London thanked Tim Archer, the service learning teacher, and seventh-graders for their projects at Mount Albion and in the community. Last year students worked on several projects for Civil War soldiers in Albion.
Archer said the bronze plaque weighs about 200 pounds. He would like to attach it to a large stone or boulder that would set in the cemetery. He thinks someone in the community might have a suitable stone that could be used to display the marker.
“We need the community’s help,” Archer said. “We are searching for a way to display this special artifact – maybe on a large boulder or slab. This plaque, recognizing the two dozen local heroes who gave their lives in service to their country, deserves a permanent, fitting home at Mt. Albion. I know there is just the right stone out there.”
In addition Archer’s classes will be studying the names listed on the plaque over the course of the school year.
“Our kids will learn a great deal about courage, integrity, and self-sacrifice,” Archer said. “There is no greater example of ‘loving thy neighbor’ than laying down your life for another. We all need role models like this.”
Those listed on the plaque include: John D. Arnett, Albert Beary, Jesse S. Brooks, John A. Butler, Leo. F. Christopher, Oliver E. Clement, Ronald F. Corey, Robert B. Densmore, Harry H. Dibley, Frederick Green, John Kurzawski, Martin Larwood, Louis Monacelli, Dewey Mott, Benjamin A. Needles, Leonard Osborne, Adolfo Passarelli, Stanley Rutkowski, James A. Sheret, Egbert Sheret, John H. Stevens, Alexander Wilson, and Stanley P. Zyglarski.
Anyone with information and/or pictures of any of the twenty-four names listed on the plaque, or an adequate size stone, can contact Archer at the Middle School at 589-2020 or via email at tarcher@albionk12.org. Donations to the project are also welcome and appreciated. For their part, students are collecting redeemable bottles and cans for the effort.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 September 2016 at 4:17 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The former Santa Claus School site in Albion, at the corner of Route 31 and Gaines Basin Road, has a new sign. Bill Downey of Downey Signs installed a replica of the sign for the school, which was run by the late Charles Howard from 1937 until his death in 1966.
Gary Kent (left), a director for the Albion Betterment Committee, and Bill Downey are pictured by the new sign that Downey installed about two weeks ago at the former Santa Claus School site in Albion.
The school property is now owned by Robin and Jill Stinson.
The Albion Betterment Committee paid for the new sign. The Betterment Committee last year also put a welcome sign on Route 98, noting Albion as home of Charles Howard and the original Santa Claus School.
The school has since moved to Midland, Mich. It continues to be named in honor of Howard, who developed many standards for how Santas should act and dress.
Downey said he had to hand-draw the letters to match the font used by Howard in the sign. Gary Kent, a director with the Albion Betterment Committee, said the Santa Claus School site remains a beloved memory for many in Albion and beyond.
He sees promoting Albion’s ties to the school and Charles Howard as a way to promote pride in the community. The Betterment Committee is also working on raising money for a bronze statue of Santa and perhaps Charles Howard in plain clothes in downtown Albion.
“This is one of the assets we have,” Kent said about the community’s ties to Santa and the school. “It can be a way of bringing back the community.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 September 2016 at 2:00 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Tugboat Syracuse carries engineers and Canal Corp. officials, as well as local planning and tourism leaders, during an inspection of the canal system in Orleans County today. The tug is approaching the Ingersoll Street lift bridge.
ALBION – The lift bridges that are part of the Erie Canal may be 100 years old, installed when the canal was widened a century ago, but the spans remain in good working order, state Canal Corp. officials said today.
The Tug Syracuse is in Orleans County today for the annual canal inspection. It is pictured in Albion with the Main Street lift bridge in the background.
The Canal Corp. is doing its annual inspection of the system. Today, canal engineers and officials are checking all seven lift bridges in Orleans County, as well as two in Brockport.
Orleans Hub checked with canal officials at about noon, when the crew was in Albion. It still had to check bridges in Hulberton, Holley and Brockport.
The five lift bridges from Medina to Albion all passed the Canal Corp. inspection in flying colors.
“We’re very encouraged,” said John Callaghan, Deputy Director of the NYS Canal Corporation. “There is a lot of attention to detail. It’s really a tribute to the dedicated and talented workforce.”
The canal crew travels by the tugboat, Syracuse, and grades the embankment walls, spillways, navigation aids, locks and lift bridges. The canal officials also make notes of those with dock permits on the canal.
Callaghan said the lift bridges, despite their wear and tear, are still getting the job done. Employees apply grease and do lots of preventive maintenance to keep the hydraulics and mechanical systems in reliable shape.
The canal is approaching its 200th anniversary. It opened in 1825. It was widened from 1905 to 1918 and many of the bridges, guard gates, waste weir systems and other canal infrastructure remain in use today from the “Barge Canal” widening.
Callaghan said the state remains committed to canal’s maintenance and viability. “We have a working museum here,” he said about the canal. “It’s really special.”
The bridges’ deck and other structural elements are the responsibility of the state Department of Transportation. The Canal Corp. oversees the hydraulics, and infrastructure below ground.
The DOT plans to do a major rehab of the Main Street lift bridge in Albion in the near future. A specific timetable hasn’t been identified, Canal Corp. officials said today. The Knowlesville bridge also will be rehabbed by the DOT, although it’s not on the schedule yet.
The Syracuse heads east from Albion to its next stop in Hulberton. Along the way, canal officials will check embankments, spillways and navigational aids.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 September 2016 at 4:51 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: Three houses on Liberty Street, between the railroad tracks and Beaver Street, would be removed to make way for a 45-unit supportive housing project by DePaul Community Services, Inc. Gov. Cuomo announced state funding for the project today.
ALBION – A 45-unit supportive housing project on Liberty Street has been approved for state funding, according to an announcement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo today.
DePaul Community Services, Inc. wants to build the project on Liberty Street, between the railroad tracks and Beaver Street. The organization would remove three houses that are on that section to make room for the housing project.
DePaul has told village officials the project would be similar to a DePaul site in Batavia that serves low-income residents. DePaul would have services and staff on site.
The two-story building in Albion would have parking on site as well as green space. Village officials say DePaul would be tax exempt, but would contribute money to the local government in the form of a PILOT or payment in lieu of taxes.
In an announcement today, the Albion project was among 121 projects with 1,200 units approved for funding, including 79 throughout upstate New York and 42 in New York City.
The funding will support the development of 1,200 units of supportive housing for vulnerable New Yorkers who are at risk of homelessness, the governor said.
The state Homes and Community Renewal and the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance will work with supportive housing providers to secure the capital funding needed to complete supportive housing projects. These awards represent a major step forward in the Cuomo’s $2.6 billion, five-year plan to construct 6,000 new supportive housing units across New York State.
“The state is taking aggressive action to end chronic homelessness and help move thousands of New Yorkers into permanent housing,” Cuomo said. “These awards will not only help ensure New York’s families and children have a safe, comfortable place to call home, but provide them with the resources they need to change their lives. With the development of these vital units, we are swiftly moving forward on the state’s transformational blueprint to tackle this crisis and bringing hope and opportunity to our most vulnerable New Yorkers.”
DePaul Community Services also received state awards for projects in Genesee, Livingston and Wyoming counties.
The 1,200 new and permanent supportive housing units will serve vulnerable populations with special needs, and will include a variety of services tailored to their needs, such as employment training, counseling and crisis intervention, educational assistance, legal services, independent living skills training, benefits advocacy and assistance in obtaining and maintaining primary and mental healthcare, according to the governor’s announcement.
Targeted homeless demographics include veterans, victims of domestic violence, frail or disabled senior citizens, young adults with histories of incarceration, homelessness or foster care, chronically homeless individuals and families, as well as individuals with health, mental health and/or substance use disorders, the governor said.
