CB 3 committee approves safe haven shelter
BY JASON COHEN
The Community
Board 3 Housing and
Land Use Committee approved
a letter of support
last week for a temporary
safe haven shelter that
would house 15 men and
15 women.
Luis Laboy, program
director of chemical dependence
at the Emma
Bowen Community Service
Center, a Manhattan
based nonprofi t, presented
the organization’s
plans, on Oct. 18, to relocate
one of its facilities to
1548 Bryant Ave., in the
South Bronx.
Bowen, which has existed
for more than 30
years, had a safe haven
shelter Addicts Benefi tting
from a Loving Environment
House (ABLE)
in Harlem for people that
have completed inpatient
services and need help
fi nding employment, education,
medical services
and housing. But since
its lease ran out in 2019,
they have been paying
month to month and have
also had to turn away clients.
If the proposed expansion
into the Bronx
is approved, Laboy told
the committee that they
would be able to increase
their bed capacity from 20
to 30 people.
“We want to come into
a community and provide
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, O 6 CT. 29-NOV. 4, 2021 BTR
services where they are
needed,” Laboy said. “I
don’t want to move into
a community without approval
or support. Our
goal is to help people become
self-suffi cient and
independent.”
Safe haven shelters are
the fi rst step for chronic
homeless individuals to
seek help. Safe havens are
available to the homeless
population to come and go
with no restrictions. The
hope is that the individuals
will eventually want
to address their overall
situation, which could
come in the form of taking
medication, seeking
sobriety and/or seeking
permanent shelter. One’s
stay at a safe haven shelter
could last anywhere
from six months to a year
and a half, where they are
transferred to supportive
housing or permanent
housing.
Laboy, who is also the
chair of the Bronx Council
on Alcohol and Substance
Abuse Disorders,
told the committee expanding
to the Bronx is
important as the opioid
epidemic has increased
the need for services in
the Bronx. To that end,
over the past decade, 94
ABLE residents have
come from the borough.
The proposed site at
1548 Bryant Ave., is a vacant
three-family house
and Bowen is working
with the New York State
Offi ce of Alcoholism and
Substance Abuse (OASAS)
to purchase the
property from a private
owner and sign a threeyear
lease with a longterm
goal of having a
permanent facility in
the Crotona area of the
Bronx. Also, the ratio of
clients to case managers
would be four to one
and people do not need
to have insurance or be
documented to participate.
“We would like to
partner with Bronx CB
3,” Laboy said. “We want
to bring our many years
of community service to
an area and become part
of a community. We don’t
want to be like all those
other developers and
build without permission.
We’re going to be an
asset to the community.”
Committee members
Gina Newton and Vlad
Cruz supported Bowen’s
interest in coming to the
Bronx. While some argue
that the Bronx is oversaturated
with such facilities,
other countered that
a place like Bowen is important
in helping people
turn their lives around.
Newton said Bowen’s
more than 30 years of service
show it has a proven
track record.
“This type of facility
helps alleviate the type of
cancer we’re experiencing
in the city,” she said.
“When we recognize
programs that actually
work, I think it’s our obligation
as a community
board to support them.”
However, Paul Navarro,
another committee
member, said although
he understands
that Bowen is a good program,
he feels the community
is already fi lled
with similar facilities.
Navarro questioned if
the ABLE program was
successful, why it didn’t
continue in Harlem.
“It’s about time these
programs look in other
areas,” he said.
The full CB3 will vote
on the proposed letter of
support at a meeting next
month.
The Community Board 3 Housing and Land Use Commitee
approved a safe haven shelter for 1548 Bryant Ave., on Oct.
18, 2021. Photo courtesy Adrian Childress
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