Long motel stays often a reality for those helped by social services

Desmond Barcus had no place to go after being released from jail last spring.

The 52-year-old, who had moved to Schenectady from New York City less than a year prior, said he was unable to work due to a disability and had no family or connections in the area.

His home for the following month and a half was a room at the Imperial Motel on State Street, emergency housing paid for by the Schenectady County Department of Social Services.

Emergency housing in motels is a last resort in the county, but it is a reality for many who find themselves without a place to lay their head.

Barcus said he’s heard stories about long-term city motel stays plagued by bedbugs and worse, but his room was clean and felt safe. With the help of DSS, he has since found permanent housing.

The motel rooms in which DSS temporarily places the homeless can be cramped, especially for families. Several people who have been housed in the motels say they are often run-down, and kitchen facilities aren’t likely anything more than a mini-fridge and microwave. Stays often stretch on for weeks, months or even longer.

Citing safety concerns and unsuitable long-term living conditions, the Colonie Town Board recently passed a law limiting hotel stays to four weeks. No similar law is set to go before Schenectady County’s legislature, but the county is working to shorten its clients’ hotel stays by increasing collaboration between DSS and local community service agencies.

Schenectady County’s DSS spent $1.375 million in 2014 to house people in motels, according to county spokesman Joe McQueen. DSS had no information on how many people were housed with that money.

“These hotels become kind of the housing of last resort for a lot of folks. The challenge is, of course, where does someone go?” said Michael Saccocio, executive director of the City Mission, which runs a 75-bed men’s shelter. “Here at City Mission, we had people sleeping on the floor just about every night through the winter.”

A handful of county-based shelters including City Mission’s have a relationship with DSS. If they are at capacity and all other options have been eliminated, DSS sends people to Schenectady motels, including the Days Inn, Americas Best Value Inn, the Twins Motor Inn or the Imperial Motel. When necessary, clients are placed in motels outside the county. Their stay typically lasts until permanent housing can be secured.

Colonie’s law is designed to keep people from living long-term in places that weren’t built for that use, Town Attorney Michael Maggiulli said in March. Motels with kitchenettes or attached restaurants are exempt from the law.

“I know cases where people have lived in a motel room for 10 years,” Maggiulli said. “These places have very limited storage, so there is stuff all over. You see extension cords all over creation for fans or toaster ovens or microwaves.”

He stressed that the law is not meant to displace those living in poverty.

“It’s something that we hope will eventually save lives, because in our minds, this was a disaster waiting to happen,” Maggiulli said.

Limiting hotel stays in such a manner could lead to feelings of desperation in those with very limited resources, however, Barcus said.

“I know it’s a numbers game, but they’ve got to come out here and live this for a minute, really feel what we’re going through and how it’s really a struggle,” he said. “I can get so disappointed and discouraged that I give up. I know the system is not for you to rely on for life, but it is a start to get you stable. When you take that away from people, there’s nothing there, and once we have nothing, ‘OK, I’ve got nothing anymore, go and break the rules,’ You know what I mean?”

The average motel stay for a homeless family in Schenectady is about 23 days, said Dennis Packard, Schenectady County’s commissioner of social services. DSS did not have statistics for homeless individuals.

Schenectady County has a Homeless Services Planning Board with a mission to get people out of motels and into stable housing as soon possible. The board includes representatives from DSS and the county’s Human Rights Commission, the city’s Development Department and Municipal Housing Authority, and local human service agencies. The group works not only to find ways to quickly rehouse the homeless, but to minimize trauma caused by homelessness, connect people with programs that can benefit them and encourage self-sufficiency.

Board member Phillip Grigsby, executive director of the Schenectady Inner City Ministry, said the sooner people are transferred into permanent housing, the better.

“All of the experiences, from here and elsewhere, is that the longer a person is in a shelter, the longer it is to get them into some kind of regular housing,” he explained. “Somebody being evicted, if you can put them right away into another apartment, rather than the shelter, that’s better than putting them up in a shelter or motel.”

The county is developing a plan to focus even more intensely on homeless families, Packard noted.

DSS is also exploring a Housing First model in conjunction with the New Choices Recovery Center and the county’s Office of Community Services, which is responsible for mental health, substance abuse and developmental disability services.

“Essentially what it is, you try to work with people where they are,” Packard explained. “You can’t get people to do a lot of things if what they’re focusing on is, ‘I need a roof over my head,’ so this model encourages housing, relationship-building and then connecting them to the services that they need.”

DSS works with Better Neighborhoods Inc., the Schenectady Community Action Program, the city and its code enforcement office on a program that encourages communication between tenants and landlords.

Kimarie Sheppard, executive director of Bethesda House, said she and her staff work closely with DSS to help get homeless people quickly placed in permanent living arrangements. Bethesda House offers both day shelter programs and permanent supportive housing.

“We start the process as soon as we can,” she said. “Many times what we’re seeing is that individuals that stay longer in motels right now, it’s because of their mental health status and the need to be able to get them into a mental health bed. That’s really been our delay.”

Within the next month, DSS plans to reconstitute its Hard to Serve committee, which will include representation from the Office of Community Services and Adult Protective Services, case management personnel and an eligibility worker.

The group will meet with single homeless individuals and work to find personalized housing solutions.

Community service organizations that work alongside DSS agree that progress is being made in the effort to efficiently find permanent housing for the homeless. Saccocio pointed out examples such as the new YMCA housing complex on Broadway — which offers long-term apartment housing for low-income men — and the combined effort of DSS and community service agencies to house those displaced by the March 6 fire that destroyed two Jay Street apartment buildings.

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