Everhart kills plan to construct East Ferry homeless shelter, citing "property values"
Efforts to build emergency family homeless shelter in Buffalo stifled
Plans to build an emergency family homeless shelter along East Ferry Street in Buffalo have been stifled after a group of outspoken community members said they didn't support the project.
Masten District Council Member Zeneta Everhart announced her decision to deny Family Promise of WNY's application to build the shelter at Tuesday's Common Council Legislation Committee meeting.
In her denial letter, Everhart said while she deeply understands the critical need for housing to support families, having personally experienced homelessness, she could not discount the neighborhood's concerns, particularly the impact the shelter might have on property values.
"While I wholeheartedly support initiatives to address homelessness and remain committed to assisting Family Promise in finding a suitable location for their shelter, I believe it is essential to prioritize the voices and concerns of the community," she wrote.
The shelter would have been Family Promise's second in the city. The organization already serves dozens of families annually at its location at 75 Hickory Street as one of only two family-specific shelters in Erie County that keep parents and kids together regardless of age.
In traditional shelters, fathers and older boys are forced to separate from their mothers and sisters in different living quarters.
According to Executive Director Luanne Firestone, Family Promise wanted to open the second location because every night the need for assistance is far greater than the space available.
"There's just not enough shelter space for families available," Firestone told 2 On Your Side back in December. The new shelter would have created temporary housing for 8 additional families at a time, intending to help 40 families a year.
In 2024, Firestone added that 92 percent of the families who went through the Family Promise program, which also includes job and financial counseling, did not go back to being homeless.
While East Ferry residents at a community meeting in January said they recognized the need to help Buffalo's homeless population, they didn't want the shelter in their neighborhood.
“We are not against the homeless and people needing shelter,” said Thanya McKinnon. “We're just against the project of that sort being put in the middle of our neighborhood. Buffalo does have a homeless population, but it is not all comprised of the 14208 zip code.”
Family Promise has not publicly announced what its plans will be going forward.
