The Rochester Housing Authority for the first time has an emergency house that it can offer to families who have been burned out of their homes.
Officials cut the ribbon this week at the house on Whalin Street in the South Wedge. The RHA plans to add additional houses so each quadrant of the city has one.
A city spokesman says the RHA was able to use some federal money to redevelop the house, which had sat empty for two years. It was planning to develop it into public housing until a single mother and her two children attended an RHA board meeting and told the story of how a fire had left them homeless once their emergency relief funds were exhausted.
The authority decided to create a series of dedicated emergency homes it can offer to families while they get back on their feet.
The first home dedicated is a duplex and can handle two families. The Red Cross determines eligibility, and families can live in the house for up to 90 days while they find a new place to live.