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City Council President Meléndez last week heard a number of perspectives on homelessness—from community associations and advocacy organizations to service and shelter providers. The day of testimony was in preparation for a report on the state of Rochester’s unhoused community.
Advocates for the homeless often lament the city’s role in encampment sweeps, claiming that the action is carried out with little recourse for those who remain impacted after an encampment is dismantled. The city, in contrast, states it offers resources and relocation assistance to the unhoused before using encampment sweeps as a last resort.
The forthcoming report appears to be an intentional move for the city to find solutions for the dramatic increases in unsheltered and chronic homelessness throughout Rochester and Monroe County.
Advocates, providers, and legislators agree: homelessness in Rochester and Monroe County represents a crisis that must be addressed. The report, they say, is an avenue for all involved to explore innovative solutions to tackling citywide homelessness.
“By virtue of the fact that we’ve seen it rise in our city, the city has become a little bit more involved in that space,” Meléndez says. “I think we need to be clearer on what we are doing and not doing.”
Harsh reality
In the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, Rochester and Monroe County saw a surplus of available beds for the unhoused community. That changed following a rise in homelessness last year.
Project Haven—one of two remaining low-barrier shelters in Rochester—closed this March, before Open Door Mission relocated all guests at its men’s emergency shelter for renovations and expansion. Now, with Code Blue temperatures fast approaching, Rochester will be left without any low-barrier shelters, where those who are unhoused can find shelter with fewer prerequisites for entry.
“(We’ve been) kind of forced to take matters into our own hands, whether it’s through capital campaigns and repurposing existing space, moving folks around and establishing new boundaries, because we’re being forced to do this,” says Anna Valeria, CEO of Open Door Mission, who testified before City Council.
The faith-based shelter organization has seen a 124 percent increase in emergency shelter nights over the last five years.
“The contributing factors that we’re seeing are a decrease in available emergency shelter beds, and specifically hospitality beds,” says Valeria. “Shelters that used to take hospitality placements are now saying, ‘No, you have to have DHS approval.’ We’re definitely seeing an increase in untreated addiction, an increase in untreated mental illness, and lack of affordable housing, but we’re careful to specify that it’s not just subsidized housing.
“There are so many people who fall through the cracks, who are working, who want to work, but there’s nothing affordable for them to be able to independently pay for their own housing.”
For Andy Carey—co-founder of social work organization MC Collaborative, who has been involved with Project Haven and Reach Advocacy, the organization operating it—the invitation to testify on Rochester’s state of homelessness came as a surprise because the perspective and solutions touted, he says, have been long known.
“When (Open Door Mission) moves down to 40 or 50 beds, you’ve (already) lost 70,” Carey explains. “You lose the 110 Reach beds—we had 80 and then we had 30 more for Code Blue—those are all gone. I know some other providers will probably step in … but we’ll be nowhere near the Code Blue capacity we used to have.”
Project Haven closed largely due to failures to secure funding between Reach and Monroe County’s Department of Human Services, which manages funding for shelters and low-income individuals seeking financial assistance. With New York managing shelter regulations through the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Mayor Malik Evans’ administration has understood the constraints that exist upon its ability to effectively manage citywide homelessness.
“In terms of the relationship between the city and the county … we have a role to play because these unhoused individuals are in our city,” says Michael Burns, deputy mayor. “I think we are bringing to bear the resources that we have. Person-in-Crisis Team, RPD, the county is bringing to bear the resources it has between (the) Department of Human Services (and) Office of Mental Health.”
While the county and community-based organizations play critical roles in collaborating on solutions for the unhoused community, Burns says he has been deeply involved in addressing citywide homelessness.
“What I’ve come to appreciate about what I’ve learned in being involved in working with our unhoused neighbors is just how complex it is. And just as it is complex, how critical of an issue it is for us to address,” says Burns. “But to do so in a way that remembers that each one of these individuals is a person. They are somebody’s son or daughter. They are somebody’s mother or father. They could be somebody’s sister or brother. They’re not a problem to solve. They are a person to help.”
He maintains that dismantling encampments remains the last resort the city takes. When notified of a new encampment, he says, the city will work to provide resources and outreach to those present before taking action, whether through the Person-in-Crisis Team or Rochester Police Department’s community police officers.
“Certainly if the report of the encampment indicates potential public safety concerns, that visit will happen much sooner,” Burns says. “Once we’ve determined that there are no safety risks, we’ll send in our outreach team, usually our Person-in-Crisis Team. They will begin a series of engagements with the one or more individuals who are at that location. … If services are accepted right away, we’ll work to immediately get the person to the place where those services can be delivered.”
Burns says that process may last 30 to 45 days, depending on the situation. The incentive to dismantle encampments for the city is when their presence poses a risk to public safety.
“If we’re working with a person who has been offered all of the support that we as a city government and a county government have, and they are refusing those supports, that is when we have an obligation to intervene. We cannot have individuals living on a lot at a location indefinitely,” Burns says. “That is not good for them. That is not good for the neighbors. If we let that go on, we’re not adequately addressing the commitment to quality of life that we have, both for the people who live in that neighborhood, as well as our unhoused individuals.”
In July, encampments near Clinton Avenue and Morrill Street were dismantled in tandem with narcotics-based search warrants, after residents raised concerns about living near drug use and needle litter, and the adverse impact outdoor encampments have had on their neighborhood.
“I think that the struggle here is (that) obviously everyone in the community wants people who are struggling to do better and to do well and to have opportunities,” observes Meléndez. “I can tell you personally, in the last decade, I’ve picked up thousands of needles personally. I’ve seen people shoot up in my face, out in the open, who are struggling with addiction. And it’s not to stigmatize that.”
For Meléndez, addressing outdoor encampments requires a delicate balance: holding compassion for those directly impacted, while ensuring the city’s residents remain in neighborhoods they can enjoy.
Advocates for the unhoused find the critique valid. They say, however, that the burden of responsibility shouldn’t fall on those in or near encampments—the city, through increased services, can address these challenges.
“The needle litter, for example, can be addressed with sharps boxes. The litter can be addressed with garbage containers. The human waste can be addressed with public bathrooms and porta-potties. These are all things our government should be doing,” says Amy D’Amico, unhoused advocate and member of Rochester Grants Pass Resistance. “(The unhoused) aren’t the actors, they’re the outcome. They’re not saying, ‘I want to live outside and be free.’ … Most people who are unhoused have no other options.”
The Lyell-Otis Community Association, Monroe Avenue Revitalization Coalition and Father Tracy Advocacy Center did not respond to requests for comment.
Dealing with a crisis
As the primary community advocacy organization engaged in addressing citywide homelessness, Rochester Grants Pass Resistance collaborated with Meléndez long before expert testimonies were heard. In coordination with City Councilmember Kim Smith and Voices of Community Activists and Leaders, RGPR held a series of presentations and focus groups centered on the lived experience of homelessness.
“We brought in President Meléndez over the course of a few meetings. We created a very specific chart of solutions, prevention, intervention, (and) long-term impact that was presented. The council president then said, ‘Yes, I’m committed to standing in solidarity (and) ready to see something happen,’” notes Smith. “It is important to name that as it relates traditionally to how policies are passed for the most marginalized communities; it is not based on the goodness of the heart of any elected official. It is based on the influence of those on the ground who are meeting with elected officials and urging them to take action.”
In a focus group of those who were currently or recently unhoused, Meléndez and Smith heard from individuals who discussed the impact of a sweep, whether it be the loss of their personal items, or the difficulty they faced in retrieving them from the Department of Environmental Services, which holds items following a sweep for up to 30 days.
“What’s interesting is we can connect the stories of the lived-experience experts directly to what a lot of the folks (who) showed up in the expert testimony and what they testified,” says Smith. “The sweeps are not working. … The system has failed to act and give this community what it needs.”
The current approach to handling encampment sweeps needs reform, sources for this article say.
“When an encampment is asked to dismantle or move along or sweep, whatever term you want to plug in there, they’re asked to leave that spot and they move and they are offered to go into shelter, but as the research will show, (the) majority of individuals that are living on the street for whatever reason do not do well in a shelter setting,” says Chuck Albanese, CEO of Person Centered Housing Options. “When we’re trying to build those relationships to assist people out of that situation and then they’re being asked to move along to wherever and we lose contact with them, then we have to start all over.”
According to the National Association of County and City Health Officials, encampment sweeps do little to curb homelessness or improve access to housing. Rather, a majority of those impacted by encampment sweeps often find themselves in similar outdoor situations. In addition, a 2023 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that unhoused individuals who were regularly forced to relocate experienced 70 to 90 percent higher rates of death due to overdose.
After a recent sweep of an encampment near Monroe Avenue, Khandi Perez—who has experienced homelessness and now serves as a neighborhood ambassador in the area—finds the act of a sweep detrimental.
“Cops are just rolling around, sweeping people, not giving two craps about if they overdose or not, or if they have anywhere to stay,” says Perez. “For me, we lose people. With the recent sweeps … we can’t find half the people.”
PCHO, alongside the City Roots Community Land Trust, has been engaged in rebuilding Peace Village through the development of pallet shelters on the property.
First designated in 2018, Peace Village was Rochester’s only sanctioned encampment before being razed in 2024. The lot has seen a sizable investment in funding from City Council, as the expectation remains that members of the unhoused community will be able to access shelter and support services once construction is complete.
“There’s just a lot of bureaucratic stuff we’re working through,” says Albanese. “We’re still involved (and) engaged with the city.”
“We haven’t prioritized it. That’s the problem. The city can do and has done anything that it wants to do,” says Smith. “The administration leads the city. Council is the legislative body of this city. If we wanted something done, it would be so. There has not been enough political insistence and demand that this be a priority.”
Adds Meléndez: “I’m hopeful that we can get Peace Village back online. I’ve been pushing the administration on that issue. Ultimately, it is a challenge of whose responsibility it is, and from a budget perspective, we don’t get the resources to do this work.”
Exploring solutions
To tackle homelessness, reforming the relationship Rochester has with Monroe County and New York in terms of resources must be a priority, Valeria says. The city does collaborate extensively with Monroe County on the issue of homelessness, but does not directly interact with the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Burns confirms.
“It would be nice to have advocates in our elected representatives who are saying, ‘If I really care for this community, then why aren’t (I) advocating for the people who are hurting the most?'” says Valeria. “We’re not asking for a ton of funding, honestly. We’re just looking for that support.”
“There’s been ongoing discussions between the county and the city administrations on how they might collaborate moving forward given a lot of the feedback that we’ve all received in the community,” says Meléndez. “I think we have to systemically figure out how we can better collaborate. … All of us have a role. What I know is that the issue is playing out most prevalently inside the city of Rochester.”
Exploring the solutions identified by experts, he adds, requires creativity and innovation. Even so, the city has moved forward with a Good Cause task force that will hold its first meetings this week.
“Housing instability, homelessness, you know, depending on which side of the spectrum you talk about it, is a concern that I have, and this is why I’m working on trying to better understand it at this point, make some early recommendations that might evolve as things evolve at the federal level or at the state and the county,” says Meléndez.
In addition to reform around shelter regulation and funding—whether through low-barrier shelters or bed availability—other solutions highlighted through testimonials include an increase in sanctioned encampments like Peace Village, where individuals facing unsheltered or chronic homelessness can access shelter and support services; and overdose prevention centers, controlled spaces where individuals facing drug addiction can freely use while being directly connected to overdose and addiction services.
“If we can bring someone (or) bring a large group of people to an overdose prevention center (or) to low-barrier shelter, then as social workers, we have time to use the evidence-based practices that have been proven,” says Carey. “We can use motivational interviewing to move people through the stages of change, (and) we can instill some hope, a little bit of optimism.”
For shelters like Open Door Mission, which is currently renovating and expanding its emergency shelter capacity, solutions fall under the desire for increased advocacy and collaboration among legislators committed to securing additional resources for shelter providers. The Center for Youth—which has seen 600 street-involved youth under the age of 18 in street outreach, as well as over 1,150 calls to its crisis hotline—views an understanding of youth homelessness as critical to solution-building.
For advocates like D’Amico and VOCAL-NY’s Lisle Coleman, the issue of citywide homelessness represents a public health issue. A focus on harm-reduction services and peer-based outreach in addition to the idea of overdose prevention centers and sanctioned areas, they say, would have a direct impact on not just the unhoused community, but those who live in proximity to outdoor encampments. Coleman would also like to see a dedicated working group tackling homelessness.
“We just know from the research (that) sweeps are not effective … so why are we spending all this money doing the same thing (and) hitting our head against the wall?” says Coleman. “The city could assist grassroots organizations to apply for this money and advocate that the conditions of the money are less restrictive, (or) pull together a workgroup of grassroots organizations who want to end homelessness and have us be a steering committee to work on housing, health, and income legislation.”
Rochester Grants Pass Resistance has also drafted legislation it aims to collaborate with the city on in an effort to put an end to encampment sweeps through changes to the city municipal code. Smith has stated her intention of working with Meléndez on the issue.
“I think if the mayor said no more cleanups, no more sweeps, we don’t move people, we don’t take their property, we can go and we can clean the area, the ground of litter, but we don’t take their property, then that would change it,” says D’Amico. “The mayor has to sign the legislation, so it will also require a mayor who has buy-in to that idea.”
With just weeks until Code Blue temperatures reach Rochester, Smith has demanded a more rapid response to address unsheltered and chronic homelessness before the report’s release.
“No. 1, how long is it going to take to generate this report? No. 2, how long is it going to take to follow up on the recommendations? No. 3, we’re going to end up in 2026 before anything is even touched?” Smith says.
With funding and resources being a primary barrier, Meléndez has stated his commitment to the issue—through continued discussions with advocates and experts, legislative collaborations with City Council, or the recommendations he will make as a result of the forthcoming report.
“I’m sure that there will be diverging viewpoints on this. What I’m hopeful for is that we could come up with something that we can agree on,” says Meléndez. “Some of it might be that we as a council need to advocate to the state, or we as a council need to advocate to the county, or we need to talk to some of our nonprofit partners in the community about some of the struggles that we’ve heard, and how we can try to do better in addressing this challenge as a community overall.”
While Smith has reinforced her commitment to grassroots organizing and community advocacy as she concludes her term, she continues to stress the necessity and ability to implement solutions, and that the solutions have existed among those who remain in the community.
“I don’t want to cast blame on anyone. I think I want to find a path towards doing better,” says Meléndez. “That’s the goal. Doing better than we’re currently doing, and figuring out how, from a policy or advocacy or investment standpoint, we as a city can push in a better direction.”
Narm Nathan is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and a member of the Oasis Project’s inaugural cohort.
The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. See “Leave a Reply” below to discuss on this post. Comments of a general nature may be submitted to the Letters page by emailing [email protected].
I speak from experience. I was dehumanizing by my local community of Mount Morris NY after residing there for over 30 years. From 2015-2019 I lived in my house with no running water, no electricity and no heat, this resulted from a public water meter breakage that was not remedied immediately by the village followed by bizzare demands like certificate of occupancies when i had already resided in the house for years. Later I discovered Livingston County had the highest military veteran Suicide rates in the State during that time, I concluded what they were doing to me was part of their planning on increased Suicide rates and cash in on prevention dollars. I was forced to close down my small business so I had no income. I was left with no options after being denied multiple times for public assistance. I had to find a way to survive. Despite US Court Ruling with Consent Orders in place prohibited my bank from foreclosure actions, Livingston County allowed, not one but two foreclosure actions to run through their court on the same property. I had lender loss payable insurance and if they had bothered to follow the foreclosure process correctly they would have discovered that. In 2019 after I was beat down in the Wegmans Geneseo parking lot by a police officer, the purpose was to serve me an eviction notice. I was then barred entry into my home, my personal belongings and property were taken and destroyed. I lived from 2019-2024 in my car. I am a military veteran, with two college degrees, and had a solid work history. I can tell you from experience, your accomplishments mean nothing, raising issues of fraud up in a court means absolutely nothing. Trying to find yourself after they completely destroy you, your identity and the person you once were, your history and any connections to life is a struggle. What they do to these homeless people who are trying to pull each other up, it’s called highway robbery, they destroy their identity, making it difficult to prove who they are so they can’t get services and the cost of getting replacement documents is not worth getting them when you can’t even feed yourself, they destroy their food, their clothing and make them suffer through hot weather conditions and freezing winter conditions. It’s called the dehumanization process. In my opinion, anyone who wants a job with government should be dehumanizing first so they know how it feels before any tax dollars go towards their salaries. Why have laws on identity theft and fraud when the government breaches these boundaries daily, it does not make sense in this alledged civilized society they claim we live in.
Ever hear of the Terrence Building? Yup that high rise building on Elmwood Ave. Look up why they closed. This is one, was one, of the, if not the largest, type of facilities in the US. That was emptied out because? Well we needed to “deinstitutionalize.” There is a whole history on this. That said, this building sits idle because we don’t want to invest into housing those with mental disability. Now I know there will be a response with all sorts of historical opinion. About 20% of the homeless population suffers from schizophrenia. That’s a fact. They self medicate. What could possibly go wrong here? I could go on but I think you get my point here. Government intervention along with the almighty dollar closed this facility. In the meantime those in need of assistance, those who deserve attention because they are sick, are left to roam the streets on one of the richest nations on this planet. Rochester, with its homeless population leads the way. They do that with the University of Rochester looking on. Standing by on an outpatient basis. The, you come to us, we don’t make house calls. Those that fall through the cracks get to meet to local police department who are now saddled with the “management”. When will we ever learn. When will we ever do what’s right and more important, do the right thing.
What “feeds” this homelessness issue. What conditions are in place that “invite” this lifestyle. Tragic it is and sad because some of this can be avoided. Although not all by itself, education, or the lack of it, is a considerable contributor. How much of this homelessness is home grown? How much of this is the result of an education system that cannot, will not, teach kids the way they learn. I think we could benefit from a survey on the level of education achieved. I don’t believe these individuals are all the result of bad luck, some of this is bad choices. In Rochester, NY the education system has failed its urban student for decades. If you don’t have an education, if you don’t have a career, profession or trade you have just rolled out the red carpet for a miserable life, one that includes homelessness. When….when are we going to graduate kids with a clear pathway toward those manay, many opportunities that exist, but are passed up because of a system that cannot get the job done. Some ingenuity, some creativity to engage minds. Show them something besides a boring classroom which bores them to quitting. Number one question of a dropout, “what do I need this shit for anyway?” I believe there is a connection between a failing school system and homelessness. Apparently the education “experts” know better. Their decades worth of educational result tell a different story. Rochester, GET YOUR EDUCATIONAL HOUSE IN ORDER!! It is foundationally the problem. K-12 is where it all begins or takes a nosedive into misery. The RCSD being the worst in NYS isn’t solely the problem, but it contributes to dooming our youth to the streets where a different education becomes their lifestyle with a mindset that is so self destructive. Mr. & Mrs. politician do something about this!! To date you have avoided that challenge because it’s too damn hard. Semper Fi.
Interesting theory. But at the moment I can’t agree. To determine whether it has any validity we’ll need to know, 1) the percentage of Rochester’s homeless who have been long term residents (studies I’ve seen indicate that 30% -40% of the average city’s homeless population are non-locals.), 2) the percentage of Rochester’s homeless who were/are residents during their school years, 3) whether Rochester’s homeless rate is above or below the national average for cities of comparable size, and 4) the homeless rates for cities with highly-rated educational systems. Once we have these numbers we can speculate on the relationship, if any, to the less-than-satisfactory RCSD.
It’s not helping the cause. And even if there is a zero relationship, the educational failure in urban Rochester is inexcusable, period. I’d say we can do better than dead last. I’d say money (1.2 billion) could be better spent.
Ya, what was I thinking. A successful K-12 educational journey having an impact on future careers, profession and vocations. What a dummy I am. Those statistics you mentioned are useless in the quest to address the homelessness. We can’t control the non-local or the rate comparison, nor the national average. We should stop doing things that have zero solutions. We should address the issues we can control. That is a LOCAL effort. That is the RCSD. That K-12 success and beyond gives people carers and professions. This city is in trouble. This city is a failure when it comes to education and that leads to all the misery…..drugs, crime, and yesss,…..homelessness along with generational poverty. Ya, let’s study some more and then some more and in the meantime doom our upcoming generation while studying.
Thank you Mr. Porte for confirming that you have nothing to back up your opinion other than…..your opinion. Some of us prefer facts and data which can be evaluated. For example, similar to your claim of linkage between Rochester’s defective education system and homelessness, I could claim that homelessness here is a function of the lack of sunlight received during the school year due to the fact that Rochester is one of the Top 10 Cloudiest City’s in America. But I have no facts or data to indicate a connection. So all I’d be left with is my opinion. Which of course is all you’re left with.
It’s interesting that this article doesn’t list the most important numbers. Namely, how many homeless there are in Rochester and Monroe County, and what the breakdown is by men, women and children. I realize that for many reasons no 100% accurate numbers can be provided, but certainly educated estimates should be possible. Add to this educated guesses as to how these numbers vary by warm versus cold weather. After all, without such numbers the public has no idea of how significant this problem of homelessness is.
They claim there is approximately 1,000 unhoused individuals in Rochester, a relatively low number considering the 75,000 foreign born population that is now housed in Rochester. It would be interesting to know, of the homeless population, how many were born in local areas, how many had already lived within the area for 10 or more years, how many are military veteran. It appears that, like most communities, the government favors the of foreigners and in order to make room for them to enjoy life, they need to push people who were already here out of their homes, out of their jobs and on the streets. Rochester should have capacity limits, like Elevators do, if you can’t house them all, then you can’t invite more to move in. Not enough room. No Vacany.
Many of our Right/Far Right/Far Far Right citizens have made the claim similar to your mini-jeremiad that, “It appears that, like most communities, the government favors the of foreigners and in order to make room for them to enjoy life, they need to push people who were already here out of their homes, out of their jobs and on the streets.” However, upon being challenged to provide a rational explanation as to why any local/state government would do that, the conversation suddenly grinds to a halt and only crickets are heard in response. Can you provide that missing rationale?
Thanks to Narm Nathan for another great article about the homelessness issue. In reading the article, it seems that the biggest problem in Rochester/Monroe County/New York state is the lack of collaboration and coordination. The proverbial right hand doesn’t know or care about the left hand is doing.
Homelessness is not a complex issue, but the acquiring the resources to resolve it are because of the siloed government and nonprofit approach to the issue.
Housing first programs work but they are not implemented because no governmental entity wants to put the costs in their budget. It cost New Yorkers $115,000/yr per inmate to incarcerate a person. The old State hospital/poor farm system would cost the same or even more. New Yorkers can afford to house every New York citizen if we wanted to. The housing is not rocket science, but the funding seems to be.
Yup, would agree. But the funding also needs to be well spent. Misappropriation is their middle name. I will guarantee you that their own financial house is in order. It’s just when its the other person’s money that they drift into spend mode.