Ross Gallabrese OPEN HOUSE — Tom Andrews, CEO of the Community Action Agency of Columbiana County, speaks during a presentation before Monday's open house at the Shelter on Sixth.

STEUBENVILLE — The name of the city’s new homeless shelter is important because it sends a clear message about what it stands for.

“The Shelter on Sixth — SOS: The acronym conveys an urgent need of assistance for those who are experiencing homelessness and also evokes a feeling of hope and support for those in need as a facility that will be in place in the community where they can turn for help,” Tom Andrews, CEO of the Community Action Agency of Columbiana County, said Monday before an open house at the facility.

Located at 142 N. Sixth St., the building was the longtime home of the City Rescue Mission before that operation was taken over by Urban Mission Ministries several years ago. When the Urban Mission announced in October that it would no longer be able to operate the shelter, state officials asked if the CAA would be able to offer assistance.

“They had federal and state funds for that — $400,000 for two years of operations,” Andrews said. “The state contacted us because we had grants that were similar, and we provided case management and rapid housing, so they asked if we could administer the grant and if we could find another entity to run the shelter.”

No one in Jefferson County stepped up to take over the operation, Andrews explained, which left his agency facing a decision.

“If we didn’t run it ourselves, the funding would leave,” Andrews said. “It would go to another community somewhere in Ohio and would never come back.”

When the shelter opens June 22, it will have a capacity of 22 and will serve men, women and families in need of emergency housing.

“This means a lot,” Mayor Ralph Petrella said. “Having a facility where we can get people temporary housing so we can get them into permanent housing is so vital.”

It will help fill a gap that became apparent over the past eight months.

“We saw over the past several months, especially during the winter, that our homeless population suffered because we couldn’t offer aid and help,” Petrella added. “We made do with what we could, but this facility is really going to help us get temporary housing, which will help our unhoused population so much.”

The average stay in the shelter, Andrews said, will be about 30 days. While the emphasis is on housing, occupants of the shelter will be able to look for work through the Ohio Means Jobs program. A resource area has been added to the facility, where residents will be able to use a computer to perform housing or job searches or apply for benefits, Andrews explained.

“The focus is on finding secure housing,” he added. “As soon as they walk in the door, we’re looking for secure housing. We also have funding for rapid rehousing, so we have the first month’s rent, security deposit and utility hookups for those individuals.”

Another change at the shelter is that occupants will be responsible for cooking their own meals. Andrews said they will be able to help with food from the Urban Mission food pantry. He added he is hoping the system also will offer a chance for members of the community to become involved.

“What would be helpful is to have prepared meals for the 22 occupants who are here,” Andrews said. “So, if people want to volunteer, if they want to bring cooked meals to the shelter, that would be helpful. We’re going to get a community calendar out.”

Changing the look of the interior of the building was a tough task, he explained, adding that it was made easier thanks to the help of partners from around the community. It includes the Community Action Agency of Jefferson County; the Community Resource Network operated by the Jefferson County Educational Resource Center; the Jefferson County Prevention and Recovery Board; the congregation at Finley Church; Apollo Professional Cleaning and Restoration; the Eastern Ohio Correction Center; Smitty’s Carpet and Flooring; Tri-State Security and Adkins Electric.

Petrella was joined by Andrew Henry, the Jefferson County health commissioner, in presenting an automated external defibrillator to Andrews for the center. The device was donated by the Craig A. Petrella Memorial Foundation. Craig Petrella, the mayor’s father, served as the city’s Second Ward councilman.

Safety was his passion, Ralph Petrella said of his father, who died of cardiac arrest. That’s why the foundation works to provide AEDs to area organizations.

Andrews said the shelter’s new capacity is a lot less than the 59 residents that were housed when the Urban Mission operated the facility. He said the CAA could do more if it had additional funding.