By Gina Martinez
Ozone Park’s highly debated drop-in center has opened.
Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Steven Banks and Breaking Ground Deputy Vice President Amie Pospisil led a tour of the recently opened, two-floor drop-in center on Atlantic Avenue in Ozone Park Tuesday afternoon. Pospisil discussed citywide street outreach initiatives, as well as how facilities like her nonprofit’s drop-in center on Atlantic are crucial in the ongoing effort to help street homeless New Yorkers transition indoors.
According to Pospisil, drop-in centers provide baseline resources, such as showers, meals, clothing, and on-site case management services, with the goal of meeting immediate needs for street homeless individuals. At these locations, clients can also access an emergency overnight option or a referral to a respite bed at local churches.
Banks discussed the importance of collaboration between DHS and not-for-profit service providers like Breaking Ground in addressing the citywide challenge of street homelessness.
“Dropin centers are important to help get people off streets,” he said. “We had success last year bringing 748 people off the streets who remained off and this new facility is an important piece in increasing the effort to getting people off the street. It’s not a linear pathway to end up on the streets. There are individuals who have fallen through every social safety net that exist in society, and with dedicated providers like Breaking Grounds, we’ll continue to make forward progressand bring more people off the streets like the 748 we’ve brought off last year.”
Banks said the ultimate goal of the centers is to provide permanent housing, and that in addition to redoubling and enhancing proactive street outreach efforts, DHS has opened, or is opening, more low-threshold facilities dedicated to serving street homeless New Yorkers, including this Atlantic Avenue site, with 350 safe haven beds brought online since December 2015 and another 360 coming by January 2018.
In November Councilmen Ruben Wills and Mike Miller hosted a town hall in Richmond Hill where a panel of workers from DHS and Breaking Ground tried to have an open conversation with residents. The panel was met by jeers and chants saying “put the shelter by your house!” and “Liar!” The main concern was that the center, located at 100-32 Atlantic Ave., is just 250 feet away from the High School for Construction, Trades, Engineering and Architecture.
Now that the shelter is already built and running, Pospisil said Breaking Ground is very committed to being a good neighbor.
“We do a great deal of work to work with local electeds, the local community, precincts, business owners, school boards, everyone,” she said. “We committed to do that at the town hall some months ago and we’ve stayed committed to that promise. We want to be good neighbors, hear any concerns and do whatever we can to address any questions.”
Pospisil said that for now the Atlantic Avenue location is serving up to 10 people a day, eventually going up to 75. They’re open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and offer basic services, three meals a day, case management services, and access to psychiatrists two days a week.
Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmart
