Open Door Mission facing capacity issues at its shelters
Nov 25, 2024
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Open Door Mission announced it is facing unprecedented capacity issues as the coldest months inch closer.
The organization's leaders met Monday morning at a press conference to address the state of their emergency shelter. They said the numbers in their shelters are the highest they have ever seen.
They said the cause of this influx in guests is due to increases in people battling addiction, untreated mental illnesses, laws changing, and decreased funding for emergency beds.
"We're an emergency shelter, we're not a clinical provider so there's definitely been calls recently for folks to be more intentional about serving folks battling addiction and mental illness," said Anna Valeria, CEO of Open Door Mission, adding, "We need help from the clinical providers from the court system, from the jail system frankly, to be able to get things under control."
Leaders plan to relocate those staying in the shelters when possible, partner with a hotel to house people and transform space on North Plymouth Avenue. The latter would create room for more beds.
Those beds are expected to open up next week. Stay with News 8 WROC for more updates on this developing story.