Operation Safety Net to house homeless on S. Side
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Moving from riverbanks and alleyways into apartments with bedrooms and bathrooms will become a reality for 16 homeless individuals currently living on the streets of Allegheny County.
The move will be made possible by a federal grant awarded to a local agency last week for construction of housing on the South Side.
Operation Safety Net, which provides services such as medical treatment for the homeless, received $1.69 million for the construction of Trail Lane Apartments on Ninth Street on the South Side.
Operation Safety Net is sponsored by Pittsburgh Mercy Health System. The money is part of $14 million in funding across Pennsylvania announced last week by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan. A total of $3.3 million was given to agencies in Allegheny County to address homelessness in the area.
The apartment program will help the chronic homeless population, said Linda Sheets, program director for Operation Safety Net. These are individuals who have been living on the streets for at least one year and have some mental illness, she said.
They are often the most difficult to reach and house, but Ms. Sheets said she is expecting full occupancy in the apartments by summer of 2011. Case managers and social workers for the agency already have high-risk individuals in mind who would be good candidates for the housing.
Ms. Sheets said she is most excited about "giving each one of these individuals a chance to have a place of their own."
Housing will be offered to the 16 individuals for as long as they choose to stay. Staff will help them look for employment and apply for disability income. Once they get a job or are approved for disability, they will be asked to pay 30 percent of their income to cover program fees, which results in a type of rent payment.
A sort of "haven" for the homeless, the apartments will be located on the third floor of a new building, with administrative and training offices on the second floor and a primary care physician and dentist office on the first.
The services provided will not be mandatory, nor are the homeless required to stay, but Ms. Sheets said she hopes the residents will take advantage of the services such as mental health care.
First Published July 13, 2010 12:00 am
