According to the Housing and Urban Development 2017 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, out of every 10,000 people in the U.S., 17 were experiencing homelessness.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently granted Oswego County Opportunities $385,000 to aid the Homeless Services for Rapid Rehousing and Permanent Supportive Rehousing programs.

OCO, located in Fulton, New York, offers many programs to help the communities of Oswego County. Homeless Services help families and individuals who are in danger of losing their housing or have already lost it.

“Homeless Specialist assists families/households by assessing needs and strengths, planning goals, researching to locate housing/prevent eviction, advocate for families, supporting families to maintaining housing and monitoring progress in retaining housing,” according to the OCO webpage.

OCO received the performance-based grant from HUD last year as well, but must reapply each year, said Patrick Waite, senior director of programs services.

“We also received, a year ago, funding for permanent supportive housing, and that is assistance to keep someone in housing,” Waite said. “HUD really focuses now on permanent housing, as opposed to transitional or sheltering somebody.”

The Rapid Rehousing program works with families and individuals who do not have permanent housing to get back on their feet. HUD provides other organizations like OCO’s Homeless Services with grants for this program.

HUD is a federal department with the mission to “create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all,” according to its webpage.

The Rapid Rehousing program served 72 individuals, including 28 families according to the 2017 OCO Homeless Services Report. The Permanent Supportive Housing served 14 families 10 of which were from Fulton. Two were from Pulaski, one was from Oswego, and one was from Syracuse.

According to a 2016 report by OCO, in comparison to New York’s poverty rate of 15.7 percent, Oswego County had a poverty rate of 18.6 percent. In 2016, the county had a population of 121,183, and according to the U.S Census Bureau, the city of Oswego had an estimated population of 17,599 that same year.

“On a single night in 2017, 553, 742 people were experiencing homelessness in the United States,” according to the HUD 2017 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress.

The assessment reported that in New York, of the 89,503 homeless individuals, 4,555 were unsheltered. New York City makes up 76,501 of the total, leaving the rest of the state with 13,002 homeless individuals.

By requirement of HUD, OCO Homeless Services canvased Oswego County Jan. 24 to seek out homeless individuals in unsheltered areas such as under bridges and around laundromats for outreach, according to Waite.

“Because of the services that are in the city of Oswego and Fulton, people tend to stay close to the cities,” Waite said.

Oswego County is also part of The Housing and Homeless Coalition of Central New York, which is “the organized body of informal networking and formal linkages between homeless services providers and other public and private human service providers,” according to the HHC webpage.

To assist in fundraising for homeless services, OCO will additionally be hosting a Bowl-A-Fun bowling event at Lakeview Lanes in Fulton, on April 14. According to Waite, OCO Homeless Services are in need of substitute staff to work in the various programs.

If anyone in Oswego County is in need of emergency shelter, they can call the 24-hour crisis hotline, which is 211.

Rachel Futterman | The Oswegonian