The Northern Westchester Examiner

Preview Excerpt: Relocating Peekskill Homeless Shelter Debated

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The proposed relocation of the only homeless shelter in northern Westchester was not fully embraced earlier this week during a lengthy Peekskill Common Council public hearing.

Caring for the Hungry and Homeless of Peekskill (CCHOP), the non-profit organization that has run the Jan Peek House on North Water St. since 1988, has high hopes about being part of a three-building proposed development at 1070 Lower South St. that would enable it to expand its current footprint from 7,500 square feet to 20,000 square feet.

According to CCHOP Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Knox, CCHOP served almost 61,000 individuals in 2021 — a 300 percent increase from the pre-COVID-19 pandemic. Fred’s Pantry, which started in 2010, serves more than 400 people each week, 95 percent of which reside in Peekskill or Cortlandt.

“Anyone of us can be homeless to no fault of our own,” interfaith minister and eight-year CCHOP volunteer George Coniglio said during the more than two-year hearing. “It (shelter) really puts Peekskill in a positive light with its empathy and compassion. It’s long overdue to move this to a much-improved facility.”

The first step for CCHOP to be able to…

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