Duane Vaughn, Executive Director, Shelters of Saratoga
Natalie Maxwell, Code Blue Assistant
Stephanie Romeo, Associate Executive Director, Shelters of Saratoga

Transcript

[00:00:00] Natalie Maxwell: I just want to say, don’t be too quick to judge a book by cover. That’s going to always be my line. Come volunteer. We do great work. It will humble you.

The Shelters of Saratoga podcast, giving a voice to the many different challenges of homelessness in our community. Throughout our podcast series, we’ll be shining a light on the perception versus the reality of homelessness in the greater Saratoga community.

The issues we’ll be talking about are more than a bed or a cot or a roof. Homelessness is an intricate ecosystem including mental and physical health, public safety, food security, resource navigation, community engagement, and longer-term sustainable housing solutions. However, perhaps most important is recognizing that the majority of the challenges of the homeless in our community are invisible.

We are at a crossroads where the challenges of homelessness intersect.

[00:01:00] Duane Vaughn: Welcome to Crossroads. I’m Duane Vaughn, Executive Director of Shelters of Saratoga. For today’s episode, our first episode of season two of Crossroads, I’m joined by Stephanie Romeo, the Associate Executive Director of Shelters of Saratoga.

[00:01:13] Stephanie Romeo: Hello. Thank you for having me.

[00:01:15] Duane Vaughn: And Natalie Maxwell, who along with Stephanie is responsible for leading our Code Blue team and operations.

[00:01:21] Natalie Maxwell: morning, Duane.

[00:01:23] Duane Vaughn: So, Natalie, first, how long have you been, working with us at Shelters Saratoga?

[00:01:29] Natalie Maxwell: I’ve been working with Shelters of Saratoga for two years, and this will be my third Code Blue season.

[00:01:34] Duane Vaughn: I think you just had a work anniversary. She did.

[00:01:36] Natalie Maxwell: Yep.

[00:01:37] Duane Vaughn: Right.

[00:01:37] Stephanie Romeo: Happy anniversary.

[00:01:38] Natalie Maxwell: Thank you.

[00:01:39] Duane Vaughn: So, before we get started with this, I’d like to talk a little bit about some recent news about how Shelters of Saratoga is working with Saratoga County to build a permanent code blue location in Saratoga Springs.

[00:01:51] Duane Vaughn: The county is in the process of purchasing the land and we’re in the first phase of developing the plans for the site. We’re going to be sharing. [00:02:00] More information about these plans in the coming months. We may talk about it a little bit on this podcast or, soon to be upcoming podcast, but again, we’re fortunate to be located again at 120 South Broadway in Saratoga Springs.

[00:02:14] Duane Vaughn: So now let’s get started. During our first season of Crossroads, one episode focused on the history of Shelters of Saratoga including the beginning of Code Blue back in 2013. Today we’re going to talk about opening Code Blue for our 24 25 season. Let’s get in a little bit and talk about, the aspects of Code Blue before we get into some of the people we serve and things like that.

[00:02:40] Duane Vaughn: If you would, Stephanie, can you explain what Code Blue is in regards to the state and the county?

[00:02:47] Stephanie Romeo: Code Blue is a statewide mandate where every county in New York state has to designate an agency to provide shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness when it’s below 32 degrees.

[00:02:58] Duane Vaughn: What are some of those options [00:03:00] that we see across the state that counties are using for Code Blue?

[00:03:04] Stephanie Romeo: I mean, some Code Blues in other counties. They open up sections of shelters that already exist, so there are designated spots within shelters that are year round that are able to open up Code Blue beds. some counties do primarily place into motels if they don’t have an agency to contract with, then the county places people directly into the motels.

[00:03:25] Stephanie Romeo: Our county, if someone’s not capable of accessing our co blue shelter, does the same thing. They will place someone in a motel.

[00:03:30] Duane Vaughn: Let’s talk a little bit more about the mandate. Can you explain the mandate and how it comes down from the state?

[00:03:36] Stephanie Romeo: The state mandate states that it what’s when it’s 32 degrees or colder or if it snows more than 12 inches we in Saratoga at Shelters of Saratoga will go by the real feel We particularly use AccuWeather go by real feel and actual temps and we will open if it’s 32 or honestly [00:04:00] if it’s close enough to 32.

[00:04:01] Stephanie Romeo: so not all counties are quite as lenient as us. but we go by real feel not just the actual temperature.

[00:04:08] Duane Vaughn: We’ve been open how many days this year so far?

[00:04:12] Stephanie Romeo: been open about 10 nights so far this 24 25 season.

[00:04:16] Duane Vaughn: Okay, so we haven’t had consistent temperatures that have been a real feel 32 degrees yet, Typically right around now is the permanent start time and we’ve got a little bit of a break again here coming up where it’s A little bit warmer and then we’ll start to see the temperatures dip You know, we have different agencies that have different philosophies On why and when to open and how to stay open I know that we have vacillated A few times on that.

[00:04:42] Duane Vaughn: So what are some of the problems that you see, Stephanie, when you say you have a day of 32 degrees then you have two days of 34 degrees, then it dips down below, what problems do you see arise in that?

[00:04:58] Stephanie Romeo: I guess there’s an array of things [00:05:00] that can come up. I don’t want to necessarily call them problems, but certainly, you know, we have staff that we’ve hired and are counting on Code Blue to open and for them to have shifts and to have hours.

[00:05:09] Stephanie Romeo: So there’s the staff side of things of inconsistency for staff. I know Natalie and I always worry that we could lose staff before we open in full because they might get impatient or they might have to find another job because they don’t have hours and they were counting on that and, you know, we can’t even be mad at that because we understand people have to make a living as well.

[00:05:27] Stephanie Romeo: and then on top of that, you have the guest side of things. Guests are coming into code blue with expectation that we’re open. And so when we’re open and closing, they have to return back out to the cold. That doesn’t feel great for us to be kicking people back out to the cold. A lot of the times they end up, you know, somewhere on the property anyway, but outside, which doesn’t feel good to us, but also it’s preventing other people from coming inside if we’re just going to close down again because most people aren’t going to give up their campsites if that’s where they are staying is out on the streets. As we see those people typically later in the season when they can trust that Code Blue [00:06:00] will remain open because otherwise their campsites are their homes for now and they’re not willing to give that up until They know they have somewhere else to safely go.

[00:06:09] Stephanie Romeo: So we’re, you know, there’s a part of the population that we’re actually not helping at the beginning of the season because they can’t come inside until we’re consistent.

[00:06:16] Duane Vaughn: Yeah, and I remember a time here we had an early snowstorm.

[00:06:19] Stephanie Romeo: Three foot storm.

[00:06:20] Duane Vaughn: Yeah, but I remember we had some warm days after it and a lot of tents, you know, that people were sleeping in had collapsed.

[00:06:26] Duane Vaughn: So they couldn’t return to their encampments. Anyway, so it was important that we stayed open. Let’s go back and talk a little bit more about the county relationship. First of all, Shelter Saratoga has been doing the Code Blue since its inception here in Saratoga, and it’s been 10 years now, and we’ve been working with the county along the way.

[00:06:46] Duane Vaughn: And the county relationship is critically important in that. So can you tell us a little bit more about either one of you, talk about the communications with the county during Code Blue season.

[00:06:58] Stephanie Romeo: Working with the county is great. [00:07:00] We send over our lists of folks, for them to take a look at and keep track of as well.

[00:07:04] Stephanie Romeo: But we also are able to see anyone who’s from out of county, from another county, to ensure that we are prioritizing Saratoga County, homelessness first and foremost. if we have an issue with anyone, the county is helpful in finding them an alternative place to stay, so that no one freezes to death, but also, we don’t have to put the safety of, our current guests or staff at risk.

[00:07:26] Duane Vaughn: So let’s take a minute or two here to talk about the financial piece that comes down from New York State. New York State allocates a certain amount of money and not every county gets the same amount. It typically goes by what they have had to spend in previous years.

[00:07:40] Duane Vaughn: the budget has not increased, which is a bit of a problem for some counties, including this county, where, Saratoga County gets between 400,000 annually to serve Code Blue. they have to keep a little bit because they’ve got people working on Code Blue and they might have to make placements for people that may be [00:08:00] overflow or whatever.

[00:08:00] Duane Vaughn: So we have to come up with a budget every year that fits into that. And I can tell you that it’s never enough, even though the county is doing everything they can to advocate for us in getting more money. But we have to figure out exactly what our staffing is going to be If we’re renting a place, how much is that going to be our supplies?

[00:08:22] Duane Vaughn: The budget has to be carefully thought of and it can be difficult for a lot of counties Going on from there, let’s talk about the buildings and grounds. So, Natalie, how many currently with our setup at 120 South Broadway, which I believe is 24 rooms and we do have a common area, how many people can we accommodate?

[00:08:42] Natalie Maxwell: So all together with the rooms and the inside, we can accommodate about 78 or more if we have to.

[00:08:51] Duane Vaughn: on what the needs are in certain counties, some counties operate Code Blue’s a little differently. They may only have a warming station and, you know, they may have [00:09:00] people just have a chair and maybe water or a snack or something like that.

[00:09:05] Duane Vaughn: We take things a little bit further than that. So, what can guests expect? When they, when they come to 120 South Broadway, do they get a, they, do they always get a cot?

[00:09:17] Natalie Maxwell: Yes. So, anytime that they come, they can expect dinner. They can expect the cot, they can expect a shower and utensils, anything that they pretty much need.

[00:09:27] Natalie Maxwell: We definitely go above and beyond, versus other Code Blues. Like I know for instance, a few of them, you can only get maybe a blanket on the floor. We provide cots and food. A lot of them don’t even provide dinner. So, you know, it’s definitely a big difference with ours. We definitely go above and beyond for our guests.

[00:09:48] Duane Vaughn: Why is it important that people are able to put their head down and sleep at night Stephanie?

[00:09:53] Stephanie Romeo: Like we have talked about it, there’s a million reasons. Are you going to be capable of going out and getting a job? Are you going to be capable of staying sober if you’re not sleeping, if your mental health isn’t what it should be because you haven’t had a safe place to sleep or you haven’t slept at all?

[00:10:08] Stephanie Romeo: It affects every other area of your life. Your health is reliant on getting a good night’s sleep. You know, you become less healthy, less mentally stable, more inclined to relapse or fall to addiction, less likely to be able to get a job, less likely to do the things you need to do to care for yourself without sleep.

[00:10:26] Duane Vaughn: And we did talk about this in a previous podcast, people see street homeless sleeping. During the day on benches and on sidewalks and in parks and things like that and we do know that the reason for that is because it’s safer, correct?

[00:10:40] Stephanie Romeo: Right I mean a lot of people tell you they choose to sleep somewhere where there are lots of people because The idea is that then someone would see them see if something happened see if anything bad was going on around them that there’d be Someone else around to help.

[00:10:54] Stephanie Romeo: I think, too, what I always like to think about when someone’s sleeping outside is the initial societal thought [00:11:00] about that. Might be negative, but in reality, the question is if you were experiencing homelessness and you had nowhere to stay, where would you sleep? Would you pick the sidewalk? The park bench?

[00:11:08] Duane Vaughn: Well, I think it comes down to integrity, too, that we are concerned about. We want to make sure that people are treated as fairly as possible, and we use every resource we can to make sure that happens. Before we get into talking about some of our guests, let’s talk about recent numbers.

[00:11:24] Duane Vaughn: So the 2023 24 season, which was last year, how many guests did we serve, Natalie?

[00:11:31] Natalie Maxwell: 299 guests.

[00:11:33] Duane Vaughn: And how many nights were we open?

[00:11:35] Natalie Maxwell: 171.

[00:11:36] Duane Vaughn: Okay, so I’ve seen different statistics, like what percentage of our guests stay for, say, up to 30 nights?

[00:11:45] Natalie Maxwell: 50.

[00:11:45] Duane Vaughn: And I think that when I was looking at the numbers, we saw that the average length of stay was about 35 nights.

[00:11:53] Duane Vaughn: you also mentioned. That we serve meals. So tell me where those meals come from.

[00:11:58] Natalie Maxwell: They come from, [00:12:00] you know different places I cook once a month for them also O’Brien Inn Donates food. we have churches that donates food. I know last season we had Fat Pauly’s donated, Barbecue USA, different places.

[00:12:14] Duane Vaughn: And how many total meals last year?

[00:12:16] Natalie Maxwell: 11,560.

[00:12:19] Duane Vaughn: Did you just remember that or did you read that? Well, that’s a lot of meals and we really appreciate everybody who is in the planning process, right? One of those preparations is organizing the meals. So how does that happen? Stephanie?

[00:12:31] Stephanie Romeo: typically I start in about, late August, early September, when it comes to actual meals, reaching out to folks who donated the prior year to see if they have interest in returning, if they want the same days, and then towards mid-September, I start reaching out to potential new donors, to fill the gaps of the meal calendar this year.

[00:12:49] Stephanie Romeo: Almost everyone who donated meals last year was willing and happy to come back and we had some donors from A few years ago, come back as well and a couple new [00:13:00] faces. So we’re grateful for how easy it’s been to get the meals and how gracious Saratoga community has been.

[00:13:05] Duane Vaughn: So how did those meals get to us?

[00:13:07] Stephanie Romeo: We asked the donor if they prefer us to pick it up or if they prefer to drop it off

[00:13:11] Duane Vaughn: We’ve got a lot of return people that have, contributed to the meals, which is really awesome. I’ve noticed that too, over the last couple of years that we’ve had a couple of really staple organizations businesses and restaurants that have really pitched in to make sure that people are fed, it helps with, the trust with the people that we serve that they know that they’re going to get that meal.

[00:13:31] Duane Vaughn: That’s so important to them. And, I know that we’ve spoken to, for example, Sully in the past who owns the Olde Bryan Inn, and he was always concerned about the number of calories that, everybody needed to sustain a day. I remember him saying it’s really important that everybody has 2000 calories, 2500 calories a day so they can function.

[00:13:50] Duane Vaughn: So we touched upon how meals are served and what that takes and the coordination and all those wonderful donors that are helping us out. Let’s talk a little bit about [00:14:00] staff and volunteers. How many staff typically do we have annually that are working at Code Blue? 12.

[00:14:07] Duane Vaughn: 12 staff. Can you break down for me what a typical staffing shift is, you know, let’s not get into what happens during that shift, but how many people do you typically have on staff per shift?

[00:14:17] Natalie Maxwell: When we first start off, it’s three on the 4 to midnight shift, and then on the overnight shift, it’s two.

[00:14:24] Natalie Maxwell: But when we’re open full time, it’s two on the morning shift, three on the evening shift, and then two on the overnight shift.

[00:14:30] Duane Vaughn: I’m sure it’s a challenge sometimes when we have to start off a program, because Code Blue is a program and it doesn’t run all year. So we have to bring in staff. Can Stephanie, can you give me a little breakdown?

[00:14:40] Duane Vaughn: What our typical staff member, what are they looking for? When, how many hours do they work?

[00:14:45] Stephanie Romeo: We have a lot of staff that are returning, which we’re very fortunate for, and they fit it into their schedules. They typically have other jobs and that’s how they’re able to return every winter.

[00:14:53] Stephanie Romeo: And then we see maybe three to five new staff each season to kind of fill in the gaps and they [00:15:00] might be available anywhere from eight to 40 hours. Typically, they’re coming to us because they’re interested in giving back and helping out, and it’s something that feels meaningful to them. And it’s just a matter of working around their schedules based on how much time they have.

[00:15:12] Duane Vaughn: So, giving back, you said that. volunteers, how many volunteers do we have during the season?

[00:15:17] Stephanie Romeo: I think there were 80 registered last season, I’m not sure how many so far this season, But volunteers are wonderful. I mean, they help with serving the dinners, but above and beyond that is because of their position of volunteering.

[00:15:31] Stephanie Romeo: And instead of being a staff member, they’re able to sit and talk with folks while they’re eating and just kind of make the population feel like human. They’re very impactful and we’re grateful that we have people who are able to spend the time just having regular conversations, and reminding everyone that you know anyone could be in that position and we’re all the same.

[00:15:52] Duane Vaughn: We’re certainly are dependent upon our staff and our volunteers And we’re very grateful to have them. So let’s talk about some of the [00:16:00] guidelines for staying At Code Blue.

[00:16:03] Natalie Maxwell: Our guidelines are basically just you know, it’s just simple just make sure you’re not, you know stealing You know, you’re not tampering with the smoke detectors on property.

[00:16:12] Natalie Maxwell: We just ask that you don’t drink on property and you don’t use on property. You can be intoxicated. We don’t discriminate. We don’t want nobody to freeze to death. We just ask that it’s not, you know, done on our property.

[00:16:23] Duane Vaughn: It’s, our code blue is a dry. Program correct.

[00:16:27] Stephanie Romeo: That’s correct. Our primary focus when it comes to our rules or what we like to call as guidelines Because we’re not really hard and fast on them is simply safety.

[00:16:36] Stephanie Romeo: What is keeping everyone safe? As long as you’re able to be on property and it doesn’t cause a safety threat to yourself or anyone else then we’re probably going to tolerate quite a substantial, amount from anybody because we don’t want anyone to freeze to death.

[00:16:51] Duane Vaughn: So there’s a lot of, misconceptions about homeless individuals.

[00:16:55] Duane Vaughn: So let’s talk about safety. You mentioned it just now, Stephanie. Do [00:17:00] you feel, either one of you tell me, do you and other staff and volunteers feel safe when you’re working at Code Blue?

[00:17:06] Natalie Maxwell: Absolutely. Not everyone is dangerous. Like everyone has like this perception of everybody is just, their mental health is like off the rocket or they’re going to hurt you or, you know, they just drunks.

[00:17:19] Natalie Maxwell: It’s, it’s not like that at all. We definitely all feel safe. It’s not a time that I haven’t, you know, felt safe. And this is going into my third code blue seasons.

[00:17:28] Duane Vaughn: Well, that’s good to hear. Stephanie.

[00:17:29] Stephanie Romeo: No, I agree.

[00:17:30] Stephanie Romeo: If you are kind to other people, they are kind back to you.

[00:17:33] Duane Vaughn: So another perception that I hear about code blue is that do we get people coming in to Saratoga County from other counties?

[00:17:42] Natalie Maxwell: Absolutely, all the time. They hear about our Code Blue. They hear how our guests are treated. So they, you know, just shift on this way.

[00:17:52] Natalie Maxwell: We’ll try to, you know, once DSS will let us know, you know, that they’re not from this county. We’ll just tell them, like, listen, you gotta go back. And [00:18:00] then they’ll just do something to get transferred to Saratoga County so they can stay in the county and, come stay at our Code Blue.

[00:18:06] Duane Vaughn: When we find folks that are coming here from outside of the county, and we say, listen, you’re going to have to go back to your county of origin, how does that happen, Stephanie?

[00:18:17] Stephanie Romeo: we, safety first. So, if it’s after hours, then we’re accommodating for the night and they’ll receive a bus pass to either go back to their county or go fight the good fight at Saratoga County in the morning. But yeah, it’s as simple as making the connection, providing a bus pass and moving them along.

[00:18:33] Duane Vaughn: The easy way to kind of explain this is that we want to help as many people as we can, but our focus is on folks from Saratoga County

[00:18:40] Stephanie Romeo: Absolutely. we don’t have enough space to help everyone from every county, so we do have to prioritize those within our county, we were at max capacity within a couple weeks last year and those were primarily Saratoga County individuals and every time we cleared space from someone who was from out of county, it was filled with someone from Saratoga County.

[00:18:59] Duane Vaughn: [00:19:00] Talk to me about, when we have disruptions or when we have somebody who is not following the guidelines or the rules. What may happen?

[00:19:09] Stephanie Romeo: I mean Natalie and I do our best to first have conversations before it gets to the point of asking someone to leave, you know, for example, if it’s someone being argumentative with somebody else’s, we try to have mediations.

[00:19:19] Stephanie Romeo: We try to talk to both parties and put it to rest. A lot of the times that works, just having the conversation first and foremost of it’s going to lead to you being asked to leave can help with some of the issues we’re having. Sometimes it’s that someone needs a higher level of care and maybe that does look like inpatient, and we have that conversation and we were able to send I think 14 people to inpatient last year.

[00:19:40] Stephanie Romeo: and that was primarily having that conversation of it’s not going well here, and you need more help, and we had people who were interested in getting the help when offered.

[00:19:49] Duane Vaughn: So, you touched on something there about doing mediation or getting somebody to a higher level of care. Forms of case management.

[00:19:57] Duane Vaughn: And can you explain how we have them here and [00:20:00] what are some of those services that they get?

[00:20:01] Stephanie Romeo: So just at COBLU alone, obviously Natalie is at Code Blue and she provides case management to anyone and everyone who’s willing to receive help. she was able to house,

[00:20:10] Stephanie Romeo: 30 people last year, through COBLU. Then, we moved 26 to our Walworth Street shelter, which is another opportunity for case management. If it’s someone who is staying sober and does want assistance and is willing to participate in a program, then we try to make the referral to Walworth Street and our team over there will.

[00:20:31] Stephanie Romeo: Move someone along to the Wall Street Shelter where they receive case management in-House as well. We also have supportive apartment units, which are case managed. And then we have our Health Home program, which is stationed over at Code Blue. So, anyone who’s willing to engage in case management services, it’s as simple as completing an Adirondack Health Institute referral form for Health home case management, and we’re able to take them, with our Health home case managers.

[00:20:58] Stephanie Romeo: Just, to help them [00:21:00] locate housing, help them with medical needs, whatever it is they want to work on.

[00:21:03] Duane Vaughn: Some of our listeners may be confused about Code Blue and Walworth Street Shelters, our shelters at Walworth Street, which are licensed, right? So, could you provide a description?

[00:21:16] Duane Vaughn: Somebody may come to Code Blue, then go to Walworth, then go to Supportive Housing, maybe in our units, maybe someplace else, maybe connection to other services. Could you explain the differences between Code Blue and Walworth Street?

[00:21:30] Stephanie Romeo: Sure. I mean Code Blue is kind of bare bones. Like ours, like we said earlier, our rules are really guidelines.

[00:21:35] Stephanie Romeo: It’s, we’re trying to keep people from freezing to death. It is a lifesaving mechanism, to prevent anyone from freezing to death. We provide a cot and a meal, and we do the best that we can to move people towards housing, whatever that might look like, and if they don’t want to then that’s totally fine too.

[00:21:51] Stephanie Romeo: It’s as low a barrier as it gets. Walworth Street does have actual rules, while we are You know, we work with people as best we can if they’re [00:22:00] breaking those rules We do want to see everyone move into housing. It’s a completely dry program. you cannot be under the influence of drugs and alcohol if you are, we try to move you towards more appropriate housing at that point but while we’re street is we’re screening people in advance.

[00:22:15] Stephanie Romeo: It’s individuals who Genuinely want the help. They’re ready for help. They’re going to put in the work equal to what case management can put in for them to move towards permanent housing

[00:22:25] Duane Vaughn: So, you made a good point there. You’re talking about Code Blue is a life-saving mechanism. That’s what Code Blue is, right?

[00:22:31] Duane Vaughn: We want to make sure people are coming out of the cold So they’re not outside suffering That they have a cot, they have a meal, and they’re safe. And then we go to the Walworth shelters and we’re talking about structure. We’re talking about goal planning because at Code Blue they’re not required to come up with a goal plan, correct?

[00:22:52] Stephanie Romeo: Correct. I mean, Code Blue is really we’re meeting you where you’re at and we’re hopeful that we can move you on to something better, but if you choose to stay where you’re at, that is [00:23:00] your choice and we will help you anyway. At Walworth Street, we will meet you where you’re at, but you better be ready to work because the hope is that you are going to develop a service plan with case management, move into permanent housing, and start your life fresh.

[00:23:13] Duane Vaughn: Let’s talk a little bit more about some of the folks that we’re seeing at Code Blue. Are you seeing a significant amount of addiction or are you seeing people that may have just fallen on hard times briefly and need a couple days? What are you seeing Natalie?

[00:23:28] Natalie Maxwell: It’s definitely both.

[00:23:29] Natalie Maxwell: You see like a lot of people that just falling on hard times, they circumstance like change, they can’t live at home no more because they have an order of protection or something like that. and then like a lot of people do have drug problems, drinking problems, but you know, we don’t discriminate. We help everyone.

[00:23:47] Duane Vaughn: So, I noticed even last year when I dropped by a few times at Code Blue, I even saw a woman and her mother, and I think the woman was in her mid-50s and the mother was in her 70s and 80s and I didn’t [00:24:00] see any drug issues or alcohol issues there.

[00:24:03] Natalie Maxwell: They just fallen on a hard time like not like I said before, you know, like everyone isn’t on drugs or alcohol You can’t you know, everybody just quick to judge a book by its cover I was once in their position where I was homeless, so I’m not on drugs or alcohol So you just can’t be quick to you know, judge them.

[00:24:25] Duane Vaughn: Okay, so a judgment free zone is critically important to the services at Code Blue. Thank you for that, Natalie. We did see some people that I know that you had mentioned earlier that went for a higher level of treatment or substance abuse or mental health. Can you explain what those services are?

[00:24:43] Stephanie Romeo: Yeah, when we notice someone might be struggling with substance use or mental health, we’ll make appropriate referrals.

[00:24:49] Stephanie Romeo: Substance use comes a little more easily because Healing Springs does send over One of their staff at least weekly to check in on us and to spend some time over at co [00:25:00] blue to offer assistance So we have a great partnership with Healing Springs and if someone needs inpatient level of care it’s a pretty quick referral even if the patient place can’t take them quickly, we can at least get them a bed that’s on hold and plan a day for them to go.

[00:25:14] Stephanie Romeo: Mental health tends to be a little more difficult because there are long wait lists in this county for mental health services, but we do everything we can to link them up to those services as well.

[00:25:24] Duane Vaughn: So, we talked about other services that are provided, and I know you mentioned Healing Springs, and we’ve talked about, working closely with Saratoga County Department of Social Services.

[00:25:33] Duane Vaughn: What other agencies or programs are we working with at Code Blue?

[00:25:38] Stephanie Romeo: we work with the Saratoga County Mental Health Clinic. We work with the Saratoga County Community Health Center. They still have their outreach PA if we do need. You know, health advice, we work with RISE when it comes to supportive housing.

[00:25:51] Stephanie Romeo: We do referrals to their, to their long-term housing. We work with Catholic Charities, Adirondack Health Institute, Saratoga Springs Housing Authority, and even [00:26:00] after they’re housed, the housing authority reaches back out to us when there is a problem to keep them housed, even after someone is in housing and they might not be working with us anymore because that’s the case or maybe they’re working with health home.

[00:26:11] Stephanie Romeo: but the housing authority continues to reach out to prevent that person from ending up back at Code Blue.

[00:26:18] Duane Vaughn: I’m not sure if it was last year was the first year, but we started working with the CEOs of the Saratoga Springs Police Department.

[00:26:24] Duane Vaughn: Can you talk to me about that relationship, Stephanie?

[00:26:26] Stephanie Romeo: It’s a great relationship. you know, if we have what we perceive might be an issue, we’re able to reach out to, the community outreach officers for people who might not know what CEO

[00:26:37] Duane Vaughn: means,

[00:26:39] Stephanie Romeo: but we reach out to them directly. It prevents us from having to waste a resource by calling an emergency number and we.

[00:26:47] Stephanie Romeo: Talk to them about what’s going on. We ask for feedback. Sometimes they come over in person and address an issue with us or have difficult conversations with us. but it’s a great partnership. In fact, Zach, one of the CEOs, usually at the beginning of [00:27:00] the season, we’ll come at four o’clock, just to have a presence for the first few nights, just to show people that we are aligned, and we are working together, which continues to be true through the whole season.

[00:27:09] Stephanie Romeo: I mean, if we need anything from them, they’re there, and they, I will imagine say the same about us, you know, when they have people that they come across in the community and they need to bring them somewhere to stay, they drop them off to us and we take care of it.

[00:27:22] Duane Vaughn: See, I’ve noticed. With the CEOs, what I like about it is when they’re there, they’re there and they’re not being called, which just.

[00:27:30] Duane Vaughn: gives a different presence to them. It feels safer. it doesn’t feel as intimidating when a police officer shows up in uniform. I think that they have, an attitude of, hey, can we build a relationship? which I think is important. And I think it’s also helpful for staff too, because they essentially become almost like a volunteer or a staff member while the CEOs are there.

[00:27:53] Duane Vaughn: So we’re grateful to that.

[00:27:56] Stephanie Romeo: Well, Zach and Ryan have a great relationship with the [00:28:00] population that we are serving over at Code Blue. they’ve worked hard on building rapport with a lot of the guests over there and it shows.

[00:28:07] Duane Vaughn: So, there’s a lot of coordination that comes even into Code Blue, which people think, well, it’s just a place to put your head down and get a warm meal.

[00:28:15] Duane Vaughn: And that’s not the case. I think it’s important to recognize that we spend an enormous amount of energy time and money convincing people or trying to convince people that Taking care of our fellow human being is critically important And I think Code Blue is a really good example that when folks are transitioning to other services Natalie do you see people sometimes returning?

[00:28:39] Natalie Maxwell: Yes, after they’re finished some of them do return some of them don’t

[00:28:43] Duane Vaughn: So why are people sometimes returning? What are some of those barriers?

[00:28:49] Natalie Maxwell: Yeah, it can be, housing costs or, they just fall back on, more hard times.

[00:28:55] Duane Vaughn: Well, it’s difficult today as we see to dig yourself out of a [00:29:00] hole when you’re in it. We know that housing cost alone to get into an apartment is very expensive and there’s a serious shortage of affordable housing and permanent supportive housing. So, you had mentioned that some of our folks may go into permanent supportive housing even from Code Blue.

[00:29:18] Duane Vaughn: Is that true?

[00:29:19] Natalie Maxwell: Yes.

[00:29:19] Duane Vaughn: Sure. Okay.

[00:29:19] Natalie Maxwell: So usually when they come in, a lot of people ask, do you guys have housing applications, or I’ll approach them. Like you want to work on housing today. I sit down and I literally work hard with each guest that wants to help and I’ll check up on the applications, constantly to see how it’s going with their housing

[00:29:39] Duane Vaughn: Let’s talk about some of the successes. Stephanie, you said that there’s a portion of folks that are working or able to work. Could you talk a little bit more about that?

[00:29:50] Stephanie Romeo: Yeah, I’d say many folks at Code Blue are individuals who are working or at least looking and maybe just fell in hard times or having difficulties securing a job [00:30:00] the cost of things prevent them from that job being enough to afford a life,

[00:30:05] Duane Vaughn: So, you know, we talk about contributing factors if somebody doesn’t have a place to put their head down How can they work a job?

[00:30:13] Stephanie Romeo: Certainly, can affect how much they’re able to work, their ability to get to work, their ability to work certain shifts. If the transportation isn’t available, there’s a million factors that go into employment.

[00:30:23] Stephanie Romeo: Doesn’t mean that they’re not capable.

[00:30:25] Duane Vaughn: And Natalie, you had said that, you were once in this position. You are no longer. Let’s talk about, other successes that we’ve seen. Can you think of some recent successes from last season, Nicole Blue, whether people’s specifics where somebody got housed or to work or is not coming back to us because things are moving up for them?

[00:30:43] Natalie Maxwell: Yes. a couple of people, I had a brother and sister, the brother was homeless for about four years and I was just able to house him and his sister both. They’re working pretty good jobs and they both have stable [00:31:00] income and the housing that they’re in now is pretty affordable.

[00:31:03] Natalie Maxwell: So, I wouldn’t see them, returning back.

[00:31:06] Duane Vaughn: So, in recent years, Stephanie, could you tell me how many people that we’ve had that have been in our shelter programs that are now staff?

[00:31:16] Stephanie Romeo: We have at least eight staff who have experienced homelessness and five staff, who’ve been through our specific programs that work in an array of different departments at this point

[00:31:27] Duane Vaughn: I think that’s really important the message that we want to get to our listeners is that these folks are productive These folks are doing their absolute best to get Sometimes they’re going to have to come to code blue because there are no other options And they can move forward into other programming or into permanent supportive housing or just regular housing and they can be successful

[00:31:51] Duane Vaughn: Like I said earlier. We spend a lot of time, convincing the community sometimes this is important, and we see the success [00:32:00] stories consistently that happened at Code Blue and Walworth and even then with being such different programs. So, in closing, do either of you have any messages that you want to make sure that our listeners understand?

[00:32:13] Natalie Maxwell: I just want to say, don’t be too quick to judge a book by cover. That’s going to always be my line. cold blue is not bad. Come volunteer. We do great work. It will humble you.

[00:32:26] Duane Vaughn: Stephanie, any closing comments from you?

[00:32:28] Stephanie Romeo: No, I agree with Natalie. I think, if you. As a listener have any questions or qualms about what might Code Blue be like or you have an idea of it that might not be accurate immerse yourself in it and do the research by taking a night to serve a meal and see what it’s actually like and see that genuinely we are humans helping humans

[00:32:49] Duane Vaughn: And to touch back on what I started with in the podcast, we were talking about a permanent code blue location.

[00:32:55] Duane Vaughn: We really hope to get there within the next couple of years to have that permanent [00:33:00] location. It’s extremely difficult on, SOS sometimes when we have to find a different location every year. If you think about it, it’s kind of like if you have a business and you were told that every year you have to take your business and start it someplace else.

[00:33:14] Duane Vaughn: Okay. And how taxing that can be on other programming. We really hope to get to that spot where we have a permanent location. We know that if we have a facility that suits us better, suits the people we serve better, how much safer it can be. And frankly, we would be much more fiscally responsible if we have the right facility that we’re working in and more comfortable for everybody, not just staff, but the people we serve.

[00:33:38] Duane Vaughn: I want to thank Natalie and Stephanie for their time today to share their insight and experience working at our Code Blue, but also for their good work and commitment to taking care of our guests at Code Blue. We hope what we’ve shared with you about how and why Code Blue is such an important program for our most vulnerable people during our cold winter months.

[00:33:57] Duane Vaughn: Reach out to us at [00:34:00] sheltersofsaratoga. org to see how you can help with donations.

Crossroads is produced by Shelters of Saratoga, a nonprofit human services agency serving the greater Saratoga area. Our mission is to transform the lives of our neighbor’s facing homelessness with support services, safe shelter, and a path to independence. Find out more about how you can help at sheltersofsaratoga.

org.