New Investments are on the Rise to Support Homeless Families at the Rochester Public Library

The City of Rochester is making new investments to expand the Family Resource Center at the Rochester Public Library, where unhoused families and other individuals in need can find critical family crisis support services.

“Just like other libraries across America, the Rochester Public Library (RPL) represents a hidden front in the war on poverty and homelessness,” said Mayor Malik D. Evans. “These investments will give the people who are leading that fight the tools they need to help our residents get back on their feet and return to the path of reaching their full potential. By strengthening families, we are moving closer to create a safe, equitable and prosperous Rochester by inspiring hope and delivering opportunity for everyone.”

The Library has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking human-service providers who can engage with the many unhoused individuals and their families, along with other individuals in need, to connect them to services that can help them return to permanent housing, find employment, and strengthen other protective factors that form the foundation of security and growth. Proposals are due by Friday, Nov. 17.

The Family Resource Center located in the Central Library already provides social and emotional support services for thousands of unhoused families and individuals each year as parents and children without housing often spend their days in the library to escape the weather and stay occupied. In the aftermath of the pandemic, the RPL is seeing a growing number of individuals take advantage of these services.

Two community agencies, Person Centered Housing Options and MC Collaborative, have been providing these services on a voluntary basis since 2014. As part of the investments, the City will enter formal, paid contracts to allow these agencies to expand their service offerings in the library.