‘Today is a miracle’: Catholic Charities celebrates new shelter

$13.9M Housing Services Center lauded at ribbon-cutting on Erie Boulevard East

By Tom Maguire
Associate editor

They skedaddled but kept their commitment.

A few years ago, Catholic Charities of Onondaga County ran a men’s shelter on South Clinton Street. But it bowed to the potential of economic growth from a new JMA Wireless manufacturing campus at the same site.

The only thing that matters, said CCOC Executive Director Michael Melara, “is fulfilling our commitment to the people that we serve.”

So he consulted with his chief operating officer, Christopher Curry. “Chris listened and quietly assured me that relocating the shelter wasn’t the worst thing ever,” Melara recalled. “And as Chris always says, ‘We will figure it out.’”

Matching Curry’s can-do tone was Bishop Douglas J. Lucia, who recalls saying, “‘Mike, we’ll do it. Somehow, we’ll put this in the Lord’s hands and it’s going to work’ and it worked … and this has certainly been a great blessing.”

The optimists were right. On May 23, the Bishop, Melara and Curry were among the notables at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for CCOC’s $13.9 million Housing Services Center (HSC) at 1801 Erie Boulevard East in Syracuse.

[adinserter block=”1″]

Tackling an ugly issue

“Homelessness is an ugly issue that requires a community response to address it,” Melara said. “We at Catholic Charities are privileged to be part of that response.”

CCOC CFO Lindsay M. Cronkright supplied this summary:

The Housing Services Center includes an 80-bed emergency shelter for homeless men, eight apartments for chronically homeless men who are either living on the streets or in a shelter, on-site health and mental-health services, case management, a culinary-training program, and office space for approximately 40 professional Catholic Charities staff who were previously located at different sites throughout the city.

Residents who arrive under the influence are not turned away for service. Instead, they are assessed based on health and safety and allowed to stay if they are not in need of immediate medical care or safety interventions from emergency staff. By providing emergency shelter services 24/7, Catholic Charities provides an immediate response to homelessness while also addressing the issues that lead to homelessness.

The HSC model incorporates critical treatment and job-readiness components that directly impact the length of time an individual might spend in a shelter. And the presence of on-site professional HSC staff will facilitate a more comprehensive approach to delivering services.

Praise for team

“Considering the circumstances and pressures we were under, today is a miracle,” Melara told the guests under a tent outside the center. “And my team at Catholic Charities, they are miracle workers.”

Melara had gotten the call about the JMA Wireless project from Deputy County Executive for Human Services Ann Rooney in August 2019. Expenditures for the project began in October 2021 with the purchase of real estate. Site work began in late 2021, and an intake center opened in downtown Syracuse in April 2022. Total rehabilitation of an existing structure and new construction were completed in March 2023.

Men are already living in the 80-bed emergency shelter. The eight apartments across the street, which are expected to be completed soon, will have a living room, kitchenette, bedroom and bathroom.

Over in the 80-bed shelter, a big sign on a wall says, “Rev. Msgr. J. Robert Yeazel Dormitory.”

“Catholic Charities has done a marvelous job, because they always do, in helping people who are most in need,” said Msgr. Yeazel, one of the guests. “And I can’t think of anything greater than having a wonderful home for people who are homeless.”

The Yeazel Dormitory has five skylights and 10 pods with 4-foot walls separating them. The eight beds in each pod have a light and a lockable wardrobe. “Beautiful in here,” said Jessie Butts, CCOC’s program officer for prevention and shelter programs, “and you wouldn’t think that it’s so functional because it’s so nice and light and bright and pretty. But it’s extremely functional.”

Tasks for caseworkers

“We have caseworkers that help to connect people with housing, mental-health services, substance-abuse services, job employment,” Butts said.

Some residents will be there for one or two nights, she said, and some for a much longer time. CCOC will never turn away somebody who is homeless, even if the shelter is at capacity. “We figure it out,” she said.

CFO Cronkright said Catholic Charities has over 300 apartment units around the county — permanent supportive housing for housing-vulnerable individuals.

Skills training for shelter residents will include culinary study. “The kitchen is the hub of the house, the nerve center,” Executive Director Melara said. “Chris Curry is the hub of this construction project.”

Therefore, Melara said, “We’re going to name it the Curry Culinary Center.”

His sign was to go up, just as Msgr. Yeazel’s did.

Editor’s note: This is Part 1 of the Sun’s coverage of the new CCOC Housing Services Center. In our next issue, read about a 26-year-old resident of the shelter who wants a job, a family and a financially stable life.

Key contributors

Lindsay Cronkright, CFO of Catholic Charities of Onondaga County, says this is where the key funding came from for CCOC’s new Housing Services Center:

The $13.9 million project was constructed with $7.1 million from the Homeless Housing and Assistance Program, which is administered by the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Other governmental funding includes $3.0 million from a federal appropriation, $2.8 million from Onondaga County, and $500,000 from the City of Syracuse. Funding was also received from our community of generous foundations, organizations and individuals.

The state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance is also providing $200,000 annually in operating funding for the eight units of permanent supportive housing through the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative.