While it could occur in the future, no homeless men from Beaver County have been transported to Butler County for accommodations.

The Beaver County commissioners recently approved a $14,000 expenditure to help The Cornerstone of Beaver County — a nonprofit that serves the homeless and those at-risk of homelessness — transport homeless men to neighboring counties.

Maria Timpano, executive director at Cornerstone, said the limited accommodations available for homeless men at a church in Beaver County were discontinued in May.

During June, a limited number of men were housed in units owned by the Beaver County Housing Authority, but the increased number of non-residents working at the ethane cracker plant has reduced the availability of sleeping rooms and hotel rooms for homeless men.

“The hotels are saying, 'Don't call back until December,' ” Timpano said.

So, Cornerstone began driving the men to facilities in Lawrence and Allegheny counties and Mahoning County in Ohio, she said.

The transportation of the men placed a significant financial burden on Cornerstone, so the commissioners approved the $14,000 expenditure to alleviate the problem.

An article in the Beaver County Times quoted Dan Camp, chairman of the Beaver County board of commissioners, saying the men were being transported to facilities in “mostly Butler and Washington counties,” but Timpano said no men have been brought into Butler County.

She said a majority of the homeless men are taken to City Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter in Lawrence County.

The men are processed in Beaver County and stay in neighboring counties for a few days before Cornerstone drivers bring them back for screenings, to fill out paperwork, or to meet with case managers.

“The goal is to get them back into the (Beaver County) community and housed as soon as possible,” Timpano said.

She said she would contact Catholic Charities of Butler County if any men were brought to Butler County. That organization is the first point of contact in the county for those who find themselves homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

Timpano said because charitable organizations not administered by the county are used, tax dollars in neighboring communities are not affected in temporarily housing the men.

Amber Crowe, director of Butler's Catholic Charities, said she was unaware that Beaver County is housing homeless men in neighboring counties.

Leslie Osche, Butler County commissioners chairwoman, said it is not uncommon for neighboring counties to rely on one another to house the homeless.

“There have been occasions in the past when we have sent people to City Rescue Mission,” Osche said.

Regarding Camp's quote that the Beaver County men would be sent mostly to Butler and Washington counties, Osche said he might have been referring to the housing of homeless men in Butler County hotels.

Camp did not return calls from the Butler Eagle regarding his comment.