LYNN — Three Lynn-based agencies that provide housing and shelter services for homeless individuals will benefit from more than $4 million in federal coronavirus relief funding that has been awarded to the city.
The Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding has been awarded to the city’s community development office from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on behalf of the city to help fight COVID-19, according to James Marsh, community development director.
“It is funding authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act),” said Marsh. “In general, we are allowed to use these ESG funds to respond, prepare and prevent the spread of coronavirus specifically for individuals and families that are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.”
The majority of this round’s $4 million grant, or approximately $2 million, will go toward Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND) for the rehabilitation of a rooming house at 50 Andrew St., and for general homeless support services, including mortgage, rent and utility assistance, Marsh said.
Another $1 million will be allocated to the Lynn Shelter Association for the rehabilitation of the Osmund Building, which will serve as the organization’s new adult homeless shelter after the project’s completion.
The remainder of the funds, or $400,000, will be allocated to Bridgewell for its Recuperative Care Center, a facility on Buffum Street that provides temporary housing and medical center for homeless individuals after they are discharged from the hospital, Marsh said. The short-term residential care program has been in danger of closing due to lack of funding.
Carly McClain, executive counsel for LHAND, said the housing agency plans to use $1.25 million of their ESG funds to rehabilitate and convert the Andrew Street rooming house to a living situation that provides more dignity and privacy to its residents.
Currently, tenants share a bathroom and kitchen, which has become particularly risky during the pandemic, in terms of the potential spread of illness in crowded housing conditions, McClain said.
To remedy that issue, the rehab will consist of building out micro units in order to give tenants their own living space with separate bathroom and cooking facilities, McClain said.
The project will also convert the rooming house into a new housing model, to serve as a bridge for homeless individuals leaving the shelter and create a pipeline for them to eventually secure more stable housing.
“What we have learned over COVID is that there’s a serious lack of immediate housing that goes between the shelter and a person living totally independently in their own apartment or shared apartment,” said McClain.
“People go from the shelter and if there’s a room at Andrew Street, they move in, but that doesn’t include services or have a pipeline into more stable housing, so we think this is going to be a more unique opportunity. (It will) help them get in and then get out to something better.”
Jason Newhall, building manager of 50 Andrew St., said the building is not in poor condition, but it needs changes based on the needs that have been brought on by the pandemic. Its current layout with sharing living spaces “does not make sense anymore,” he said.
Newhall, who credited LHAND’s planning and development director Peggy Phelps with helping to bring the project to fruition, said the changes will improve the experience for everyone living in the building.
The city has also allocated $700,000 to LHAND for general homeless support services, which will go toward helping people stabilize their housing situation through rent, mortgage and utility assistance. Many people are struggling right now, said McClain, noting that the housing agency is doing everything it can to ensure families receive financial assistance.
“Obviously it is not good for families to be homeless right now. There’s no room in the shelters,” said McClain. “We’re coming to the cold months, the more people doubling up puts (each other) and the broader community at risk.
“Even before the pandemic, vacancies in housing were below two percent. It was really difficult for people to not only find housing, but maintain it, because the costs of rent have gone up so much over the past few years.”
Mark Evans, executive director of the Lynn Shelter Association, said the $1 million in ESG funding allocated to the organization will go toward its planned $4.5 million rehabilitation of the Osmund Building.
The rehabilitation project is aimed at allowing the LSA to move its adult emergency shelter to the first floor of the building. The new 9,000 square-foot multi-use space will include a 40-bed shelter and day programming, Evans said.
The remainder of the shelter association’s existing footprint in the building won’t change, Evans said, which includes 49 permanent supportive housing units for individuals who were previously homeless, and 11 two-bedroom units for families who were previously homeless. The LSA administrative offices are also located in the building, he said.
Currently, the LSA’s adult shelter is located in the multi-service site at 100 Willow St., where it will remain until construction is completed at the Osmund on Liberty Street, Evans said.
The completion of the project is dependent on securing additional funding, which has been impacted by the pandemic. Evans said three foundations and individual donors have committed $550,000 to the project, which coupled with the ESG grant, brings total funding to 1.55 million.
Evans said the LSA has received tentative approval for its loan application through HUD, and has applied for historic tax credits through the state.
“The mayor has been incredibly supportive of this project and we appreciate (the city’s) help and commitment to supporting the homeless population in Lynn,” said Evans of the ESG grant.
The $4 million grant is the second round of ESG funding the city has received this year through the CARES Act, Marsh said, noting that his office was awarded $751,000 over the summer.
The two rounds of relief funding represents a much higher allocation of ESG funding than is typically allocated to the city, which received approximately $220,000 of non-COVID related ESG funds this year, Marsh said.
“This pandemic has increased the number of people who are homeless and totally blown up local and state budgets,” said U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, who helped to secure the funding. “These Emergency Solutions Grants will help Lynn and the state ride out the storm. While their arrival is good news, they were only designed to be the start of relief.
“At the end of the month, millions more people will be facing homelessness if the unemployment insurance expansion in the CARES Act is allowed to expire because Congress failed to reach a deal on relief. I’ve been demanding for months that the leaders of the Senate pass more relief, but they have failed. It is time to go big. Millions of people in every part of the country are living on the brink of financial ruin, and they deserve help.”
