More than 90 community leaders, elected officials, non-for-profit organizational leaders, concerned citizens and religious and faith-based clergy attended the Young Women’s Christian Association of Jamestown (YWCA) and the Jamestown Justice Coalition open community forum Thursday at the Robert H. Jackson Center. The forum was broken down into three parts. Two groups of panelists spoke for approximately 45 minutes each, and the last part of the forum was a Q-and-A session which lasted for 30 minutes.

“This is an issue that I think we, as residents, need to take on. I want this meeting to be a solutions-based meeting, and let’s not get political or start finger pointing,” said Justin Hubbard, Jamestown Justice Coalition coordinator at the start of the discussions.

Hubbard said that as of Friday, the city has been in a state-of-emergency for 50 days.

The first group of panelists to speak were community-based workers who deal and support people who are unhoused. The panel consisted of the Rev. Dodi McIntyre, Joy Fellowship Church, Steve Cobb, Mental Health Association (MHA) and Sean Jones, formerly with the Mental Health Association, UPMC and now Jamestown’s Department of Development.

More than 87 people Thursday attended the YWCA of Jamestown and the Jamestown Justice Coalition’s Open Community Forum on homelessness at the Robert H. Jackson Center, 305 E. Fourth St. P-J photo by Christopher Blakeslee

As the members of the first panel talked about the barriers and stigmas attached to those labeled as homeless and unhoused, among them a perceived lack of trust and transparency for those affiliated with governmental agencies and the need for security and relationships.

The second group of panelists consisted of local homeless advocate Bonnie Weber, who herself was unhoused at one point in her life, along with Robert, Regina, Tracy, Brittany, and Nancy (last names withheld to protect their identities) who are (mostly) housed and are part of the YWCA’s Transitional Housing program.

“I’m what you’d call a ‘caught in the middle’ person,” said Tracy. “I have a ton of health issues, my husband died in 2003, but I am too young to be a widower, according to Social Security, and I make $20 too much a month, to qualify for any state or federal benefits. So, do I save for a car, use what little money I have for medications or buy food? Without the YWCA I would be homeless or dead at this point. I just need a little help. I want to work, and I want to be self-sufficient.”

Weber said, “I don’t think anyone wakes up and says I want to be homeless – I know some of this is a result of choices he or she makes, but compassion goes a long way. These are humans. These are our neighbors. They are us.”

An unidentified person in the audience said, “I’m the mother of an adult, educated, son who suffers from Schizophrenia, and ended up homeless because he came off his meditations. He said to me, ‘mom, people were more compassionate to stray dogs on the street than me,’ it is heartbreaking to me to hear this. On a positive note, he is on his medications and working full-time and off the streets now.”

Weber, a recent YWCA Impact Award recipient, talked about some of the other hurdles her homeless friends are currently facing.

“Simple things like getting an I.D. card or social security card are next to impossible for some to get,” she said. ” How do you get services, apply for a job, or start to better yourself if you can’t even get by step one? Other things like having enough food or clean drinking water; taking a shower to go to a job interview; having an unreliable payee if they receive any type of support; transportation to and from appointments. It’s never just one thing for them, it just stacks up higher and higher.”

Weber continued to explain about how a homeless or unhoused person, who misses a scheduled appointment, intentionally or unintentionally, can be sanctioned and have services withheld for up to 45 days. Additionally, she said, the red-tape, and hoops jumping that most governmental programs require is scary and offsetting for her and can be panic-driving for those currently in crisis.

“So, they placed a person who was living near the Riverwalk in a hotel in Falconer. Now the person must walk back into town,” she said. “If they cannot afford or understand the CARTS (Chautauqua Area Rural Transit System) buses schedule, and find their way to their scheduled appointment -or face sanctions and having to start the process all over from scratch. How would you feel? This is after they hurriedly are rushed and forced to leave everything they own behind. How would you feel?”

Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone spoke about how he helped reinvigorate the United Christian Advocacy Network’s City Mission, and that by simply talking and showing mercy and compassion can have long-lasting effects. Quattrone said the government is not always the answer to solve all the city’s problems, and that he hopes other churches and nonprofits step-up and take a leading role regarding the unhoused crisis in the city.

However, it should be noted that the Jamestown Director of Development, Crystal Surdyk, Jamestown City Council President Tony Dolce and other local and county governmental officials were also in attendance.

Hubbard reported that a summary of the discussion points and questions asked during the symposium will be sent to the Chautauqua County Department of Mental Health and Hygiene Services for data processing.