Councilmember Mark Squilla, who represents the district where the center is located, said people are often afraid to go to shelters because they aren’t always nice places, but that the new, clean facility gives people hope.
“When they come here, they’re going to want to come here, right? … Shelter is one thing, but you want to go … eventually into housing, right? So the goal is to move people along and to build them so they become self-sustaining,” he said.
Officials spoke of people who have already come through the facility and found family members who will take them in. In one case, a woman was reconnected with her late husband’s pension, which gave her an income and a new chance of a stable life instead of living on city streets.
Cheryl Hill, of the city’s Office of Homeless Services, said the Hope 220 facility offers plenty of services to bolster people who come in off the streets.
“We wanted to be a step above and transcend what you think about when you think about shelter. We wanted to feel like home while the individuals are living here. We also wanted to make sure that it came with dignity and comfort to the residents,” Hill said.
Jefferson Health is also offering free medical services with a primary care practitioner on site who, executive Dixie James said, can refer residents to other services within their network as needed.