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Motion of the Council of Allegheny County urging the Chief Executive to explore cooperative efforts with the City of Pittsburgh to utilize some portion of the former Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital in Highland Park as a low barrier shelter for unhoused individuals.
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Whereas, recent events, most notably the announcement of the impending closure of the Smithfield Shelter, have highlighted the needs of unhoused individuals within Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, and strongly indicate the absence of adequate safe space for housing, mental and physical healthcare, substance abuse recovery, and other services for unhoused individuals; and
Whereas, in 2013, the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System closed its hospital, located in Highland Park, and shifted medical service to facilities located in Oakland and O’Hara Township; and
Whereas, in 2020, the City of Pittsburgh announced plans to acquire the former VA Hospital site in Highland Park, for use as an emergency services training center; and
Whereas, at that time, published reports indicated that Federal regulations required that the property be used solely for public safety or emergency response purposes; and
Whereas, although the conveyance of the property to the City of Pittsburgh was expected to be finalized in August of 2020, the Allegheny County real estate website appears to indicate that the property is currently owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and
Whereas, it is the judgment of Council that the former VA Hospital site has the potential to function, in whole or in part, as a low-barrier shelter for unhoused individuals, due to the amount of bedspace in the hospital facility, previous accessibility of the site by public transportation, and existing infrastructure that could allow the site to be used for the provision of physical and mental health services, addiction recovery services, and safe housing with appropriate sanitary and other facilities; and
Whereas, it is accordingly the desire of Council for the County to strongly consider the possibility of using the former VA Hospital in cooperation with the City of Pittsburgh, if such use can be accomplished in a fiscally responsible fashion; and
The Council of the County of Allegheny therefore hereby moves as follows:
Council hereby urges the Chief Executive to explore cooperative efforts with the City of Pittsburgh and/or Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to utilize some portion of the former Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital in Highland Park as a low barrier shelter for unhoused individuals, to the extent that such usage can be accomplished in a fiscally responsible fashion. Such consideration should also include an evaluation of the appropriateness of this use under Federal regulations or other applicable law, together with exploration of the availability of potential additional funding from the Federal government, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the non-profit community.