Effective immediately, Catholic Charities of Chemung/Schuyler is temporarily suspending overnight stays at its College Ave Homeless Shelter due to staffing shortages. They will continue their collaborative effort with Chemung County to ensure shelter is provided through local motels.
Providing shelter for those experiencing homelessness continues to be a priority for Catholic Charities. Nancy Koons, Executive Director, stated, “As entities across the country are dealing with staffing shortages, we at Catholic Charities are also unfortunately short-staffed. Many of our incredible staff have been working an extraordinary amount of additional hours, stepping up to fill in scheduling gaps. However, we have to be good stewards of our valuable staffing resources and realize this cannot be a long-term solution. We are doing our due diligence to hire qualified staff and train them for these critical roles.”
Anyone in need of shelter may call Catholic Charities’ Samaritan Center at 607-734-4898 or come to the Samaritan Center at 380 S Main Street in Elmira between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm, Monday – Friday. For emergency shelter needs after-hours, they may still go to 605 College Avenue in Elmira or call 607-732-5954.
If you are interested in employment at Catholic Charities, please visit their website, cs-cc.org, and click on “About.” There you will find a list of employment opportunities.
Motel-friendly foods such as single-serve soup/cereal, fruit cups, granola bars, and breakfast sandwiches are needed. Personal care items are also greatly appreciated. Donations may be dropped off at the Samaritan Center during regular business hours. You may visit cs-cc.org and click “Give Help” to see a wish list of needed items.