ELMIRA, NY (WENY) -- Catholic Charities of Chemung and Schuyler Counties hosted a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to announce a new dormitory-style homeless shelter that's opening in Elmira. The shelter will officially open on May 8th at 4 p.m. and is for single individuals.

"Having this shelter in the city of Elmira allows us to get 47 people out of motels, and into our shelter where they can provide a more focused case management to help them remove barriers and [get] on the path into permanent housing," said the Executive Director of Catholic Charities of Chemung/Schuyler Counties, Nancy Koons.

For people who stay at the homeless shelter, they will have to follow rules and there will be security there during operating hours. People who come in will have to be screened through a metal detector and have their bags/belongings checked.

The dormitory-style homeless shelter will be open Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. and on the weekends from 2 p.m. to 10 a.m. People who stay at the shelter would be given breakfast to go and dinner. Lunch is served from the Elmira Free Community Kitchen Mondays through Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. People will also have the chance to get help with things like substance abuse and addiction.

"The services we provide are very tailored to each individual's needs. So, if it's a barrier that's involved with substance abuse, we work with them. During our closed hours, there may be case managers here working on-site with residents of the shelter or residents coming from the motels, or [people can] work with their case manager at the Samaritan Center. With each individual, a plan is developed, goals are set, and it's important for people who come here to follow the rules and continue meeting their goals," said Koons.

Jacquie Canute, the Director of Economic Security for the Chemung County Department of Social Services said the homeless housing team will now have more time to work with people one-on-one to access the resources they need.

"In October of 2023, we were utilizing 193 hotel rooms, and last week, we had 135 hotel rooms. Instead of securing hotels, now we will have more time to dedicate to working one-on-one with clients and helping them access the resources and services to help them [become] self-sufficient," said Canute.

She said this dormitory-style shelter will help save the county money.

"I [calculated] an average hotel stay, anywhere from $80 to $95 for single individuals. ... The average is about $4,000 a day that we will be saving in the county by utilizing the 47 beds here. That's $120,000 a month," said Canute.

If you'd like to donate, Catholic Charities needs grocery gift cards and bus tokens. They're also looking for volunteers to serve evening meals on weekdays and weekends.