Captain Michael Harrington and his wife have overseen operations at the Salvation Army’s Utica location for 10 years.

“Before we opened our recovery drop-in center, we were providing meal services. We provided rental assistance, some utility assistance, some clothing availability,” said Harrington.

Recently, their efforts to help the community got a big boost this past fall as Oneida County, the city of Utica and nearly 30 community partners joined together, offering more services geared to help people experiencing homelessness.

The Salvation Army of Utica is one of the drop-in locations where people can stop in for a meal and get help with whatever they need.

“These are our friends and neighbors that we’ve already been working with, but the amount of services that we were able to provide was limited. Now we’re more of a one-stop-shop. Somebody could come in and we could identify them as homeless. We can get them sheltered that day,” Harrington said.

What You Need To Know

  • Oneida County and dozens of community partners are working together to address homelessness, offering multiple services

  • The Salvation Army of Utica is one of the drop-in locations where people can stop in for a meal and get help with whatever they need

  • Through the initiative, those involved said an average of 130 people are sheltered daily

 

To help get the word out, Oneida County Department of Family and Community Services Deputy Director Michael Romano says they deploy a street outreach team.

“We brought the programs and the services to meet the people where they congregated,” Romano said.

The end goal is to help people become employed, if possible, and help them obtain sustainable permanent housing. But putting an end to homelessness is a multifaceted issue.

“It involves poverty, and in some cases, individuals who are experiencing some form of mental illness or substance abuse, so again, that makes it a very complicated issue,” Romano said.

According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, more than 91,000 people were experiencing homelessness in New York State as of January 2020.

Through this Utica initiative, an average of 130 people are sheltered daily. Harrington says homelessness puts people in danger.

“They’re more inclined to be victims of violence or human trafficking or other horrible things so we take it very seriously to be able to stand in and advocate for them, and get them safe,” Harrington said. “We want to be a continued resource for them for years to come. We don’t want to just, 'OK, we helped you get into housing and you’re onto the next step.' We want to be there for them for the long term.”

Funding for the program is set to run out on April 1, but a spokesperson for the city of Utica said there will likely be discussions about it in the coming weeks. The initiative has already helped hundreds of people so many hope the work will continue.

The Salvation Army in Utica is accepting donations including socks, insulated underwear, hand and feet warmers and hygiene products.