TWO PERSONAL STORIES ADDED AT STORY'S END: MEET Port's unhoused neighbors: Surviving frigid days (and nights)

By Sharon E. Siegel

PORT JERVIS, NY – During the harsh winter months, life is fragile for those who live without the comfort of home or lasting warmth and shelter.  A recent nationwide Point in Time Count, led in Port Jervis by Port’s police department and Port Jervis Warming Station Administrator Jack Austin, found the number of homeless to slightly less than last year, but still numbering in the dozens.

PIT’s Count included areas where unhoused individuals gather locally on cold winter days; PJ’s Free Library, Burger King, Salvation Army Soup Kitchen, stores, and tents along railroad tracks and river banks on the outskirts.  Many are known by police who keep a daily lookout for their safety, and by the staff of the Port Jervis Warming Station through its Together in Hope registered non-profit ministry.  Dozens have spent cold

winter nights at Port Jervis' Warming Station, based in St. Peter’s Lutheran Church at the corner of West Main and Hudson Streets.

Austin, a psychologist and director of the station and its ministry, runs the warming station with dedicated volunteers, a case worker, and its seven-days-a-week, all night manager Brian.  Their work is also supported by community-donated supplies, hot daily meals, and some financial contributions.

“We would like to see this evolve into year-round help for those dealing with a wide range of hardships that contribute to their being homeless,” Austin said.  “They may have mental or addiction issues, lost their job, broken up from a relationship, or lost their home – such as from a fire – and just have no place to go or resources to follow through on their problems.  We get to know their problems, make checklists of needs, and help encourage their steps forward.”

Some means of help have included apartment and job hunting, replacement of IDs, and even such things as going to Walmart for non-stick shoes needed for hiring when KFC opened. A main goal is helping to connect to long-term help sources.

Austin said unlike what some may perceive, homeless individuals are not simply lazy or not wanting help, but rather experiencing homelessness that sometimes begins early in life and carries obstacles in moving forward. These could include no parenting, not completing high school, not being able to read, mental or addiction challenges, or simply lacking opportunities to learn the skills of a trade.

Caseworker Nicole said some may have grown up homeless, experienced trauma, and lacked self-confidence over their lifetime.  Additional challenges may keep them from being able to find a job; maybe no phone, no ID, no transportation, or lacking basics like food, showers, and clothing.

“It’s very hard for some to get out of the hole. It’s much more challenging than you might think when you have nothing,” she said.   “That’s what we’re here to help with, but it takes more than a few months to follow it through.  We do have success, though. A lot of those that were here last year, have found some success, are not here this year.”

Brian, who works closely with the guests at Together in Hope, is there all night every night.  He views his job as helping to provide food and shelter, but also “making it as homey here as possible for the situation they are in.”  He is grateful that more than 20 past guests are now in housing, including at least three local seniors; some locally and some out of the city.

One of the Warming Station's winter guests is a veteran who has a job and a vehicle, but no home.  This veteran is currently on a list to apply for a tiny home at Rumshock’s Veteran Village. This unique tiny home village for veterans is currently under construction in the Tri-States section of Port Jervis.   

Given how different each situation is, those helping with local homelessness view their challenge as individually helping each person apply for and be hired for a job, receive eligible benefits, and move forward past difficult obstacles.

“I can have goals, but they have to be their goals – not mine,” Nicole said.  “We’re here to help them personally in connecting to long term solutions.”

Austin said Together in Hope, Inc., plans to also apply for grants and funding to offer permanent year-round help.

“Each one has potential. We want to help them learn how to unlock it,” Austin said.  “Success builds on itself.” 

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Meet some of Port Jervis’ unhoused neighbors

(We thank these neighbors for their openness in sharing for understanding.)

Dominick S.

Dominick is an Army veteran who was born in Kingston, NY on August 10, 1963.  He spent some of his pre-teen years in Sellingrove, PA, and moved with his family to Milford, PA in 1972.  He recalls that his dad was a fire chief in Milford while they lived there. 

As a soldier, Dominick served from 1994-1998.  He was a Fuel Petroleum Specialist at Fort Hood, Texas.  He then served in the Army Reserves from 1998-2000.

As a truck driver with a CDL license, Dominick was employed through December 8, 2025.  He was fired from his job after being in an accident in the Bronx. 

At the time, Dominick had been living at the Apple Inn, Matamoras for about a year, paying $450 weekly rent.  Without a job, and with unemployment benefits not immediately coming through, he was unable to pay his rent and soon found himself homeless. 

As of early February, Dominick still had not received unemployment benefits.  As is often the case in obstacles faced during homelessness, he said his card was sent to the address listed on his application, but not received.  He is confident this will be soon corrected and he will follow a better path forward.

While he is currently homeless, Dominick is grateful to have a vehicle, which was parked outside of Port’s Warming Station during a particularly cold winter night visit for this story.  He is also grateful to be able to shower, share a meal, and sleep in warmth at Port’s Warming Station during the coldest of these winter months.

“It’s a miracle, really.  It’s a safe haven for those that need a place to go.  There wouldn’t be anyplace else for any of us to go. The volunteers are amazing, and they help provide clothes, food, and services,” Dominick said.  “It gives people a chance to get themselves together.  I would say to anyone who is here  to take the time you’re afforded, and use your time wisely and well while you’re here.  Get a fresh start.  That’s what I’m working on.”

Unfortunately, this is not Dominick’s first experience with homelessness.  But it’s been a long time in between. 

The 62-year-old veteran kiddingly shared that he has three ex-wives and no kids, but more seriously that he took shelter locally while homeless in 2011.

“We had two-feet of snow at that time.  I was in the same boat as now.  I was helped with filling out applications, and I was able to get a fresh start.  It helped me then, and I’m forever grateful for the kindness of everyone then, and now. They don’t know us from Adam, but they put love and care into all they do,” Dominick shared.

Now, 15-years later, Dominick sees himself in a much better position than he was in 2011.  He has a vehicle, and will soon undergo cataract surgery. 

“I have a car and once I have my surgery, I will get a job.  It won’t take long to get back on track,” he said.     

Dominick’s name has also been provided as a possible future resident of the currently under-construction Rumshock’s Veteran Village in Port Jervis.  He  said he does not take moving into one of the tiny homes as a guaranteed move.

“If someone is disabled or needs it more than me, then I would definitely not want to take that spot,” Dominick said.  “It’s a possibility for me, but I do not see it as for sure.”  

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TYLER AND KAITLIN

They live in a tent in the woods and are grateful for wintertime conveniences they sometimes avail themselves of at Port Jervis’ nighttime Warming Sation. 

Tyler (30) and his wife of nearly a year Kaitlin (33) were renting locally for $1000 monthly when they say their rent was raised above what they were able to pay.  This was the direct circumstance they say led their current living situation, but among a few challenges that have come their way over the past couple of years.  They have no family or friends that are able to work with them in helping to move forward.

“We have no family to help.  My dad is broke.  He’s not in a good situation.  My mom is a drug addict and I feel she cares only for herself,” Tyler said.  “We do have two kids, Caitlin’s kids, who are staying with their father. She sees them daily, but we miss them and want to find work and housing and get them back.”

Both Tyler and Kaitlin were born and raised in Port Jervis.  They were previously renting a two-bedroom house in Sullivan County, by Sackett Lake, where they lived with Kaitlin’s now five-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son. They said their landlord decided to sell the house, and raised their rent to get them to leave.    

“He told us to leave or we would be evicted. We ended up in court and the judge gave us an extra month to move.  That was two years ago.  We have no housing, no car, and no job right now.  I’m trying to stay positive.  If I can get a job and get to work, any kind of job, we want to find a place to live and stay here with our kids,” Tyler said.

Formerly, Tyler recalls working for Osmose Utilities putting in telephone polls in the Philadelphia area.  He said one day he was working with a drug user who crashed one of the trucks, and both lost their jobs.  It was unclear of jobs he’s held between then and now, but he said  “loves to work” and would be grateful to be hired at any place where he has applied.   

“We’ve been applying places, but there are huge gaps in my resume, and we do not have transportation to get a job out of the area.  My wife was working at Walmart, but it’s hard to get to work out every day, out of Port Jervis, without transportation and living in a tent,” Tyler said. 

The two wish not to have their tent location disclosed. As meager as their collection of belongings may be, they say they have had things stolen from the tent and had to sew it back together when it has been vandalized and cut.

“Some people are not considerate. We’ve had our tent cut down six times and had to start over. That’s why we try to stay there as much as possible rather than spending every night at the Warming Station. We want to protect what we have,” Tyler said.  “We have a tarp over our tent, sleep on an air mattress, and only a few belongings, but they are things we need to stay there for now.”

“I’m happy we have our tent, and I’m not in the snow,” Kaitlin said.  

Kaitlin noted that she previously worked for 12-years before losing her job.  She said after losing their Sullivan County home, they did try staying with a relative for a while but conflicts arose. Despite damages to their tent,  Kaitlin feels safe living in the woods but wants to get back to family life in a home with her husband and children.

“I take things with me when I leave the tent,” Kaitlin said during a recent night at the Warming Station.  “But right now, with the snow so high, it could be collapsed when we get back.”

The couple, married on April 16, 2025, say they are grateful to be able to take a shower, spend some nights, and receive a meal at the Warming Station when the weather is really bad and they have no money coming in at all.  Like others who are unhoused, they take temporary brief daytime shelter and warmth at places like Port’s library, Salvation Army, and local businesses like Burger King.

“Right now, we’re kind of stuck waiting,” Tyler said during a bitter cold, snowy night stay at the Warming Station.  “But I know we’ll get jobs and an apartment, and we’re grateful for the help of a place like the Warming Station while we try to get there.”