CDBG Public Facilities Funds: $700,000
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| The old shelter was unsafe and unattractive. |
The Town of Plymouth requested $700,000 in CDBG Public Facilities funds over two years on behalf of the Pemi Bridge House to close the existing homeless shelter and construct a new one at the site of the Whole Village Family Resource Center (WVFRC).
The former facility was a converted two bedroom older home, which was substandard and overcrowded. There were 16 beds in two bedrooms for women and children and a basement area for men.
The new facility, the only family shelter in Grafton County, more than doubled the living space, including eight rooms plus one staff room. It increased bed capacity from 16 to 20 beds in a livable and dignified environment. The new shelter provides easy access to much needed social services provided by the WVFRC and enables the shelter staff to provide training and core comprehensive services to its clients.
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| The new facility is larger, brighter, and more inviting. |
The average length of stay at the old shelter was six months. The typical adult needing shelter was a single woman with one or more children. Last Christmas there were nine children at the Pemi Bridge House. The average age of a homeless person is nine years old.
One hundred percent of the clients will be low and moderate income people. The total estimated cost of the project is $875,000 in part because WVFRC donated the land, valued at $80,000, on which the building was constructed. In addition to the CDBG investment, the project used $95,000 in funds from the Pemi Bridge House.
