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New Housing for Homeless Women Coming to Jerome Avenue

April 19, 2007

By HEATHER APPEL of the NYCity News Service

If you’re a single woman looking for emergency housing in the Bronx, you have limited options for getting off the street. There are only three intake shelters for single women in the city, and only one of those, the Franklin Armory, is in the Bronx. If all three are full, your next best option is a drop-in center, where there are no beds, so people sleep in chairs — often for up to two weeks at a time.

Soon, 180 women will have access to housing, job training and counseling at Susan’s Place, a new transitional residence scheduled to open in July on 177th Street and Jerome Avenue. Women will be referred to Susan’s Place from all five boroughs.

The 40,000-square-foot building will also include a 24-hour drop-in center for women looking for a safe place to wash their clothes, get a meal or a shower, or start the intake process to be placed in a longer-term shelter.

Susan\'s Place

Currently, the only drop-in center available in the Bronx is the Living Room in Hunts Point, operated by Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). The Living Room is coed, and men far outnumber women, which can intimidate single women and discourage them from staying overnight, said Noel Concepcion, director of CAB’s street outreach team.

Susan’s Place will be run by the non-profit organization Care for the Homeless, which operated the Kingsbridge Armory women’s shelter until it closed in 2000. The residence is named for Susan L. Neibacher, the founding executive director of Care for the Homeless who passed away in 2004.

Although the organization notes that families with children make up the bulk of New York’s homeless population, representatives of Care for the Homeless say the number of single homeless women is rapidly expanding. Of the over 2,000 single homeless women in the city, many suffer from drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness and physical health problems, and they are often victims of domestic violence, according to a report published by Care for the Homeless.

Not everyone in the community embraced the plans for Susan’s Place. Community Board 5 opposed the proposal, arguing that the neighborhood is already host to numerous drug clinics and homeless facilities.

“You open up your arms in the beginning, but it’s not a good way to stabilize your community after a while,” said Community Board 5 District Manager Xavier Rodriguez.

However, now that the plan is going through, community board members are trying to build a relationship with the people running the facility and make sure community concerns are addressed.

“The board believes they’re going to operate a decent program, but there are certain things that are going to be beyond their control,” Rodriguez said.

Bernice Williams, chair of the Human Services Committee of Community Board 5, reached out to the directors of Susan’s Place to participate in a community advisory council, which held its first meeting March 27. At that meeting, Care for the Homeless Executive Director Bobby Watts and two colleagues fielded questions about loitering, security, and job opportunities for the community.

Watts gave an overview of the amenities and services at the building, which include a full-time doctor or nurse-practitioner, a part-time dentist, a library, computer room, TV room, social services, and educational services. The unique design of the semi-private dormitories, the services offered and the size of the facility make it unlike any other homeless housing that exists in the Bronx.

The facility will provide 88 full-time staff positions, some of which can be divided into part-time jobs, said Watts. At least 30 to 35 will be entry-level positions for program aides, kitchen workers and security staff, according to Care for the Homeless. Watts said he plans to have at least four security staff on site at all times, and those staff will be trained in conflict resolution.

Williams came out of the meeting feeling encouraged about the plans.

“We’re going to stay on top of it, and between us and Susan’s Place, I think it’s going to be a good thing for these women,” she said. “Plus, I love that they’re going to have sensitivity training for the staff — these people need respect in order to lead a productive life,” she added.

As for the community board’s worries about drug use in the area around the building, Watts emphasized that there will be a zero tolerance policy. The women will be screened with breathalyzer and urine tests and could lose their spot if they don’t stay clean. He also said there would be numerous programs inside the building to keep residents engaged and help them successfully find permanent housing when they leave Susan’s Place.

Rodriguez urged Watts to meet with local business owners to head off potential problems with loitering and get their support for the project.

Care for the Homeless say they’re planning to stay in contact with the community and will invite everyone to visit Susan’s Place at an open house on June 28. If all of the work and certifications are completed on time, the site should be taking in women by July 1.

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6 Responses to “New Housing for Homeless Women Coming to Jerome Avenue”

  1. New York City News Service - CUNY Graduate School of Journalism » Safe Haven at Susan’s Place on August 13th, 2008 1:15 pm

    [...] in: Mount Hope Monitor Expand Photo + Photo By: J. Fergusson/Mount Hope Monitor SUSAN SAVES: Susan’s Place, a [...]

  2. Jacqueline Gilchist on November 21st, 2008 11:03 am

    When do this shelther open. I am a college counselor who counsel with single young lady from the age 18-25 who are in need of shelter.

  3. Lisa Rodriguez on January 30th, 2009 9:34 pm

    I’m currently a 26 year old college student. I’m a single female who is trying to make a difference in her life; however, I’m short in a support system. I stay where ever I can to go to school, because with a High School Diploma it’s difficult to be able to maximize your social welfare here in New York. At times, I have to take different levels of abuse to stay in a semi-safe place to be well rested. I get by with (P.A). It brings happiness to my heart to know that somebody thought about us the single women, who don’t have any children and are providing a safe place for young women to grow by making it possible to carry out a plan in becoming independent, successfully. I might be one of your first resident.

  4. Debra Rodriguez on April 21st, 2009 6:45 am

    I am very pleased to have read about Susan’s Place. What about us working homeless women? I, for instance was working over 40 hours in a doctor’s private practice as the practice manager for $15.00 an hour. I was then living with my mother, who took in my son a crack cocaine user who moved in with his family and I was literally, and slowly bumped out. I began living from one friends house to another. My hours were cut to 10-15 hours per week for $10.00 an hour. My brother in Florida took me in and I was still able to keep my job and work remotely. My mom fell ill and I had to come back to care for her with no place to stay, again I am in a friend’s home. What about us? We work for for very little but at least we have a job. We don’t make enough to pay a rent. Waiting lists are for years. The shelters have a schedule that does not allow for us to come and go as we please and makes it hard to work the hours we can and also take care of our elderly parents. Can you make a place for us? Displacement can be as mortifying as coming off the street to a safe haven. It’s the opposite having and then losing. I am aware that homelessness is a grave problem in our city but I find that many programs are geared to women with drug addiction or abuse issues. I would love to help many other women and men like myself if there were only a place to go. I just live day to day hoping that someone will hear my cry, and those of us who have some higher education backround or trying to complete a career track and work but who have no home, will be acknowledged as part of the homeless system. My prayers are with all of you and that Susan’s Place will be a continued honest success.

  5. FRAN ALMEIDA on May 7th, 2009 7:59 am

    Please be in touch with me. I work at a crisis preg. ctr. in HBG PA and have a few clients that may benefit to your program. Please contact me via email or 717 343-1419. Thank you. Fran

  6. Damaris Ayala on September 17th, 2009 6:14 pm

    Please, Pretty Please I really need someone to please help me seek shelter I am a 32 yr old woman who does not have a roof over my head. I am on public assistance and I got a McDonald’s job and i really dont have any where to live and I really need a roof over my head i start this job on monday and I dont have family but my mother here and she does not want to know of me because of my sexual perference. Please I ask that if someone can help me seek shelter it would be apprectiated. Please I have no where to go..I can’t take it know more please I dont want to give up on myself please help me.

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