Sheriff's Homeless Improvement Program expands additional wing to help women, children

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Albany County Sheriff's Office started a homeless improvement program in 2020 in an unconventional space -- part of the county jail that was no longer in use. For the past few months, another wing has slowly undergone renovations and transformed into more shelter space to help more people.

Carla Johnson, one of the few female residents at S.H.I.P. said, "This is a safe haven."

S.H.I.P., which stands for the Sheriff's Homeless Improvement Program, is located right next to the Albany County Jail. It's the last place Johnson thought she'd call home.

"As small as it is, it's still comfortable, and I'm not sleeping outside," she explained.

Johnson had been homeless for about seven months, but these days, room 229 is where she sleeps. "That, like, changed my life because I was really having a hard time. I was surviving but barely," said an emotional Johnson. "It was just too much, overwhelming. I was becoming depressed."

While the program has helped dozens of men find permanent housing and work in order to live more independent lives, the sheriff is hoping to expand his mission and help more women like Johnson by dedicating an entire wing to women.

Sheriff Craig Apple explained, "So they have their own safe space; they have a door they can lock and sleep sound."

Johnson added, "Having a place where it is just geared for women and children is the best thing ever, because you have a lot of women and children that are sleeping on bus stops, sleeping on cold concrete ground."

S.H.I.P. Housing Coordinator Vivian Kornegay said, "Men and women have different issues; we are different. Our safety issues are different."

With 49 beds to outfit in the newly renovated wing, which includes two separate suites spaces, Kornegay is paying attention to every detail, from where the kids would play to child proofing certain areas and designing the living space.

The environment is a top priority for Kornegay, because SHIP has become a sanctuary of support for the residents she helps, not just a place to sleep.

Johnson remembered, "Vivian sat and talked and comforted with words of advice. She tried to do everything she could do to help."

Sheriff Apple added, "If you don't have the social skills to survive out there, you go back to what you know."

Those skills have helped Johnson find new opportunities. "Just having a job again, it brings comfort and to know that you have a support system here."

With the transformation of the women's wing near completion, that support will be ready in a few weeks' time.

S.H.I.P. was awarded a $500,000 federal grant that was helped secured by Congressman Paul Tonko. That money will help with the cost of the renovations along with other community partnerships. The new wing should be open by the end of September.