County heard details on Lincoln School supportive housing and outreach collaboration with city enforcement

Jillian Redder, speaking for the county’s special initiatives, described the Lincoln School Apartment Program in Ogdensburg as a 20‑unit supportive housing building that uses a housing‑first model and provides on-site services including transportation, peer support, care management and 24/7 staffing. She said 18 of the 20 units are supported through the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative and the Homeless Housing Assistance Program; two are affordable one‑bedroom units. The program opened in October 2022 with a waiting list and reached capacity within a month.

Redder told the Health and Human Services Committee that supportive housing fosters tenant councils and planning committees, builds skills for tenants to move into communities of choice, and is a needed component of the county’s response to rising emergency housing placements. When Legislator Peck asked whether a proposed local ordinance to restrict camping would result in arrests, Redder said enforcement would resemble ticketing and that the county’s outreach staff would coordinate with city police to offer placement options before enforcement action.

A separate speaker clarified that a project on West Main will include 61 apartments (15 for substance-use disorder services, 15 for mental health, and 31 low/affordable units), and that Thrive expects to have office space in that development when it is complete. The committee voiced support for continuing to expand supported housing options.