By CRAIG FREILICH

As many as 1,000 people might be homeless in St. Lawrence County at some point each year, but there is no official homeless shelter here.

“Nobody wants it in their neighborhood,” said Jeffrey Reifensnyder, executive director of the Massena Independent Living Center (MILC). The group gives aid to hundreds of people county-wide every year looking for a place to stay for as little as one night or for a safe place for a family to stay permanently.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s funding has been shrinking, “and they aren’t giving any new money for homeless shelters,” he said.

Also, in a county as huge at St. Lawrence, if only one shelter were built, it would be too far away to benefit most of the homeless.

“In more urban areas, you will find shelters which are operating because of volume and an inability to find housing for homeless people in other ways,” said St. Lawrence County Commissioner of Social Services Chris Rediehs.

Even for a well-intentioned benefactor or group, opening and running a shelter in St. Lawrence County “would be a struggle here because of the lack of population and a lack of major funding.”

On top of that, there would be considerations of regulations, “quality of the housing, maintenance, security and insurance. You would really need to tap into a community of people to maintain it.”

Nonetheless, “St. Lawrence County does not let people sleep in the street,” Reifensnyder said.

1-2 Days Of Housing

Most people who seek housing help from county Department of Social Services might get a short stay in a hotel or motel and Public Assistance if they need it and qualify.

“There is temporary assistance, temporary housing for a day or two,” said Rediehs.

“If needed, the Department of Social Services can supply benefits or make a referral. They may be eligible for various programs of Temporary Assistance for a day or two because that’s what their needs are,” Rediehs said. “We would help them longer if that’s what’s required.”

Many more of the homeless seek help from agencies such as MILC, local neighborhood centers, United Helpers, church and religious organizations, and places like the domestic abuse shelter at Renewal House in Canton.

Reliance On Non-Profits

The county DSS relies on private agencies such as the Massena Independent Living Center for sustained help in finding shelter.

MILC is a leader in St. Lawrence County, and is “especially good at finding temporary housing,” said DSS Commissioner Rediehs.

“They really are doing a magnificent job of finding people temporary and permanent housing,” he said. “They are serving all of St. Lawrence County – a huge county. They attempt to serve people everywhere, very difficult in a county so large.”

DSS, the MILC and all the other agencies work together trying to coordinate service for people in all sorts of difficult situations.

“One main reason the Independent Living Center does what it does is because so many people presenting as homeless or at risk are people with disabilities,” Reifensnyder said. “Problems with mental health and physical disabilities play a big, big role in homelessness wherever you are.”

Agencies such as NYSARC will frequently take the lead in those cases, often finding them jobs and housing.

Organizations such as neighborhood centers in several communities in the county, housing agencies in Massena, Ogdensburg and Potsdam, the United Helpers Supported Housing Program, the American Red Cross, church groups such as the Canton Church and Community Program, Helping Hands in Hannawa Falls and St. Vincent DePaul locations, and affiliates of 12-step programs all help people who need a place to stay.

Reifensnyder said the answer to some people’s homelessness might just be a decent job, but, he said, “Shelter first. Everything else comes after that.”

As for building a facility in St. Lawrence County, “I think it would be good to build a homeless shelter right next to the Humane Society,” he quipped. “We will shelter and care for animals, but people? That’s a different story.”

Many Children Homeless

According to the state Education Department, 533 children from pre-K through grade 12 in St. Lawrence County’s 17 school districts were counted as homeless at some point during 2014-15. Most, 485, found shelter by “doubling up” with relatives or friends of their parents.

Five were sheltered for a time in a hotel or motel. Thirty-eight were “sheltered” in a “primary nighttime residence” other than a hotel or motel, or a friend or relative’s home. Five were “unsheltered,” staying in cars, parks, campgrounds, temporary trailers, or abandoned buildings.

Counting the number of homeless adults is more difficult and accurate numbers are hard to come by.

However, MILC reports having assisted 468 homeless people or individuals in danger of becoming homeless in 2015-16. County Social Services handled 255 people who needed shelter in 2015. And presumably several hundred parents of the 533 homeless children reported by the state were homeless as well.

There are different categories of people seeking shelter.

Some just need a place to stay for a day or two, and might find it with a friend or relative and never go beyond that. Some are genuinely homeless, living in a car or some out-of-the-way place. Some have run into money problems and need a job more than anything else.

Some are mentally ill, or find it hard to make a living due to some physical or mental disability. Some are fleeing abuse. And some, though they might need it, just don’t ask for help.