The Newburgh Ministry, which has been serving the homeless people in Newburgh for 40 years, is in the process of developing an affordable housing solution next to one of our current shelters, in what is currently an unusable lot on Johnston Street. This site, which will be named Legacy House in honor of our founding sisters, is designed to address both the immediate crisis of homelessness, by providing affordable housing, and to reduce the future risks of housing instability, by providing on-site resources.

Estimated to cost about $15-17 million, this project is being funded, in part, by the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI). Once completed, Legacy House will have 40 one-bedroom and 10 studio apartments, the rent for which will be partially subsidized by ESSHI to ensure that no tenant is ever forced to pay more than 30% of their annual income in rent. Legacy House will also have 24-7 security, and on-site behavioral health and substance use support. This project will bring construction jobs to the city and once completed, will create dozens of jobs for on-site staff.

While this project would be an amazing asset to some of the region’s most vulnerable people, there are very vocal critics that are trying to stop this progress. For several weeks, there has been public fear-mongering, racial stereotyping and outright falsehoods spread about the Ministry, our clients, and the unhoused individuals in the City of Newburgh. At Tuesday’s meeting of the Newburgh City Planning Board, critics used racially charged language, made damaging generalizations about people who use drugs and accused the Ministry of lying to the public and to our supporters. The resistance and hate being fomented in opposition to this project is allegedly rooted in the fear that building affordable housing will simply encourage more homelessness. Bad-faith actors are trying to equate this with a subsequent rise in crime and drug use. These accusations are ridiculous. Providing a safe place for people to rebuild their lives is the key to creating the city we all want—one where every person has the opportunity to live a safe, productive life.

No one deserves to be homeless. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been arrested, used drugs or have just fallen on hard times; you deserve a safe place to stay. It is true that unhoused individuals often struggle with substance use and that many of them have a history within the justice system, but that does not make them unworthy. The concept of this proposed affordable housing solution is to address the root causes of homelessness: mental health issues, substance use, poverty and more, so that people in need are given the chance to get back on their feet.

As our organization has continually grappled with the nuances of Newburgh’s homelessness crisis, it has become evident that the core of this issue is a lack of safe, affordable housing. Leviticus Fund sponsored a Housing Needs Assessment in June 2021, the findings of which substantiated what the Ministry and our community supporters have long understood: housing in Newburgh is becoming increasingly unaffordable for those in most need. According to this report, 60% of renters and 44% of homeowners in Newburgh are cost-burdened by housing costs, compared to the Orange County rates of 53% and 32%, respectively. In some neighborhoods, the rate of cost-burdened renters is as high as 75%. Shockingly, this report also shows that Newburgh has historically had double the rate of vacant housing units as Orange County as a whole, with the most recent data estimating that 20% of units in Newburgh are vacant.

The reality is that in today’s world, most of us are only a few bad weeks away from being homeless; we can no longer afford to ignore the plight faced by those less fortunate than us. To adequately address the problem of homelessness in Newburgh, we need to provide the resources necessary to overcome each of the related socioeconomic obstacles. By accepting the ESSHI funding, the Ministry has made a 26-year commitment to sustain this site as it was initially intended: affordable housing and supportive services for low-income populations. This means that the establishment of Legacy House is a long-term commitment to our city, establishing a place where those in need can get back on track.

The Newburgh Ministry believes in the power of community, and we are hopeful for a future in which our city is a place where everyone, no matter their race, background or income, has the resources they need.