POUGHKEEPSIE – As part of Dutchess County Government’s ongoing response to the Coronavirus/COVID-19 health emergency, County Executive Marcus Molinaro has issued an emergency order allowing the previously vacant temporary housing units (PODs) at the Dutchess County Law Enforcement Center and Jail campus to be repurposed as emergency shelters for those in need.
“We are utilizing every resource at our disposal to respond quickly and effectively to this rapidly evolving health situation,” Molinaro said. “Since social distancing is almost impossible at most homeless shelters, we can use the dormitory-style PODs to help create necessary space to help prevent the further spread of this illness and increase our ability to respond to cases within the homeless population as needed.”
Dutchess County has partnered with Hudson River Housing and Mental Health America to operate one of the two modular, dormitory-style buildings, which will be divided into male and female sections, allowing for more social distancing among the shelter clients.
The facility has a capacity for up to 100 individuals, including 48 female beds and 52 male beds. The county has also partnered with Dutchess Outreach to provide food service.
There is a separate entrance to the property for shelter clients and staff, with physical barriers between the shelter and the jail for additional security.
If needed, an additional POD will be opened as an alternate care facility should any homeless individual need treatment or care.
The PODs were opened in 2015 to temporarily house inmates previously boarded in other counties as a cost savings measure. The PODs have been vacant since early January following the county’s work to reduce the population at the jail through restorative justice programs and the implementation of the state’s bail reform legislation.
