POUGHKEEPSIE – On Thursday night, the Dutchess County Legislature’s Public Works & Capital Projects Committee Meeting, moved forward with a plan to spend $3.1 million of American Rescue Plan (ARP) federal funds to create an Emergency Housing Facility at 26 Oakley Street in Poughkeepsie.
The facility is planned for single adults and was passed by a 7-4 vote with one member absent. The decision comes after a months-long discussion by county leadership and a March committee presentation, where the lawmakers reviewed the proposal.
“The new facility will replace the temporary housing units (PODS) currently on the Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center property, gathering the county’s homeless resources together in a single, central, efficient location to better combat homelessness in the county and help those afflicted,” according to Legislature Chairman Gregg Pulver.
Construction is slated to be finished in the summer of 2023. County leaders expect the building to be occupied by fall 2023.
The new facility will offer housing for about 100 adults, in addition to administration offices, relaxation and dining space, and counseling, all intended to direct homeless people back into independent living and serve the county’s goal to prevent homelessness whenever possible and make it temporary when it does.
Pulver also said, “This Oakley Street facility will economize the help we give our homeless residents, while giving effective assistance that will ultimately serve both them and the community in a more humane way. The current system, which is disorganized by comparison, does not serve our homeless as well as it could or should.”
