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ImageIthaca, NY—Tompkins Community Action has received $2.7 million in funding to construct 14 new units of homeless housing in Ithaca, NY. The grant was awarded by the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance as part of its Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP).

The new project, named Magnolia House, will serve single women and women with children who are homeless and in recovery from drug and/or alcohol abuse. “Magnolia House has been a vision of many people in our community,” states Lee Dillon, Executive Director of TCAction. “We are so excited that we can bring it to fruition with this wonderful grant from the State of New York.” 

The project will consist of 14 enhanced studio units of permanent housing, as well as on-site supportive services that focus on building life skills, nutrition and food preparation, financial literacy, work readiness and support, being a good tenant and creating personal goal plans. These supportive services will be housed in a central core that will join Magnolia House to the existing Chartwell House, a 12 unit SRO (single room occupancy) for homeless and disabled men in recovery.

Also funded by HHAP, Chartwell House was purchased and renovated by TCAction in 2000 and has provided a home to 43 homeless men since its inception. “There is always a waiting list [for Chartwell House]; the average length of a tenant stay has been growing, so we generally have only a few openings a year,” says Danielle Harrington, Director of Housing Services at TCAction. Harrington expects to see a similar demand for the units at Magnolia House; “it will be the only place for women like it anywhere near us,” she states.

TCAction’s Housing Department strives to provide safe, affordable housing for low-income households in Tompkins County. In addition to Magnolia House and Chartwell House, the department oversees 12 units of supportive housing for young families and provides rental assistance through the Section 8/Housing Choice Voucher Program. Participants in TCAction’s Housing Services also have access to programs such as our Family Self-Sufficiency Program and Home Ownership Program, which help households build assets and independence.

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