HUDSON– At the Columbia County Community Services Board (CSB) meeting November 28 Jeff Rovitz, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties (MHA), announced that Greenport Apartments is “on track to be fully occupied by December, ahead of schedule.”
Mr. Rovitz said that Greenport Apartments has 66 units, about half reserved for people with mental health issues and half for households who qualify on basis of low income. Rent is based on income. Some renters are on Section 8, some not, Mr. Rovitz said.
Greenport Apartments houses both singles and families, with one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. The MHA owns and operates it. Meeting participants said there should be more setups like Greenport Apartments, concerned the when these apartments fill up, there will still be people with mental health and income issues waiting for supportive housing.
Elena Mosley, executive director of Operation Unite New York, attended the meeting because she found out about an opening in the Subcommittee for Intellectual/ Developmental Disabilities. Her interest in the topic developed from decades of advocacy for a family member with a disability.
In other business at the CSB meeting, Robert Gibson, county commissioner of Social Services, reported that the Galvan Civic Motel (GCM), which will offer 25 rooms for emergency housing for people with no home, is expecting to open within the next few months. “It’s coming,” he said.
The GCM, in Greenport near the border with Livingston, will also provide offices for case workers to help residents find permanent housing. Data from the county Department of Social Services shows that the department had to find 49 units of emergency housing for 75 individuals in October.
The next meeting of the Columbia County Community Services Board will take place Wednesday, January 30, at noon, at 325 Columbia Street in Hudson.