For decades, housing and public health advocates have tried to build a homeless shelter in Sullivan County – but where it’ll go has been a heated debate for years.
Last April, the county legislature came close to approving a 20-bed facility in Thompson but failed to agree on both the location and the project scope.
The New York Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) then suspended accepting new funding applications months later in September 2025 for the agency’s Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP), the program Sullivan County was planning to apply for, before legislators could reach an agreement.
Now, the state has re-opened its RFP for the housing funding program this June, but Sullivan County says they’re still not ready to apply.
Sullivan County Legislator and Health and Human Services Committee Chair Cat Scott said the legislature is working on nailing down an existing structure that would need retrofitting and is still in the beginning planning phase of the potential facility.
“I’m cautiously optimistic that we are moving forward with that, but I’m not sure if our timing’s gonna work out for this year or next year,” said Scott.
Sullivan County has never had a homeless shelter for unhoused residents and is the only county in the Catskills and Mid-Hudson Valley without one. Neighboring Delaware, Orange, and Ulster counties all have an emergency housing shelter.
Sullivan County currently places over 240 adults and children across several hotels and motels across the county according to the latest county data.
The ‘hotel for housing’ model has been widely criticized as an inefficient solution to address the root causes of homelessness. The system cost Sullivan County about $5.8 million in 2025 alone – up from $3.4 million in 2024 – and doesn’t include any wraparound support such as mental health support or emergency food assistance.
READ: New York Freezes Housing Funds as Sullivan County Legislature Stalls on Gateway Housing Location
One concern critics have raised is that a gateway housing shelter could lead to increased substance use and public safety issues where it’s built. But Scott says the county has been working to ensure there are adequate community safety measures in place.
“This is a program that’s gonna have staffing 24 hours a day. There’s gonna be security cameras. There are things that are being put in place to make sure that this facility is a good neighbor, no matter what community it finds a home in,” said Scott.
Sullivan County already has a housing nonprofit partner HONOR ready to operate the facility, which also oversees the homeless shelter in Orange County.
For years, community advocates have urged the legislature to stop stalling and address the county’s homelessness crisis head on.
Marty Colavito, prevention programs issue leader with Sullivan County’s Cornell Cooperative Extension, said that the organization’s food delivery program is projected to make more than twice as many emergency food deliveries this year, in addition to their scheduled deliveries.
“Situations are gonna get worse, and homelessness follows,” said Colavito during a June 11 legislative committee meeting. “I truly hope that we’re that close because we’ve been talking about a site for now well over a year, and we’ve been talking about resources for well over a year and every day that goes by we feel hopelessness in this county.”
OTDA released its RFP on June 5 and will start accepting applications starting July 28.
Update: This article was updated on June 17 to include how much Sullivan County spent on emergency housing hotel payments in 2025.
Image: Exterior signage at the entrance of the Sullivan County Government Center in Monticello, New York (Photo Credit: Kimberly Izar)