Displaced Second Avenue Commons Residents Will Move to Northside

Published on June 15, 2024

County Department of Human Services Director Erin Dalton today offered the following update on moving displaced Second Avenue Commons residents out of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center this weekend:

“Yesterday we announced that displaced residents of Second Avenue Commons would be moving out of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center this weekend to a location in the Allentown neighborhood of the city, and we said we would continue to look for alternative options for additional shelter to bridge the gap until Second Avenue Commons is ready to reopen. I am pleased to announce that another emergency shelter option, 1200 Reedsdale Street on the Northside, which was always a preferred location for us, has become available due to the diligent work of our partners at Pittsburgh Mercy and the City of Pittsburgh. 1200 Reedsdale Street is a location operated by Pittsburgh Mercy, which is one of the organizations that staffs Second Avenue Commons. It meets our requirements in terms of space for approximately 100 people seeking emergency shelter, is air conditioned, and its location on the Northside provides excellent access to transit and downtown where many Second Avenue Commons residents need services. The medical clinic that was previously at Second Avenue Commons is also going to relocate to 1200 Reedsdale. Finally, 1200 Reedsdale has the added benefit of being in a less residential neighborhood than the Allentown Family Links building.

“At this time, we will no longer plan to move anyone to the Allentown Family Links Building. We thank Family Links for offering their support and space in this crisis. We will continue to look for additional emergency shelter options to help bridge the gap until Second Avenue Commons can be reopened, and as we announced yesterday, we believe that timeline for reopening may be months. Also as we said yesterday, individuals experiencing homelessness should not present at the emergency temporary shelter.  Instead, they should contact the Allegheny Link for support. In person services are available Monday – Friday 8:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M. at the Human Services Building located at One Smithfield Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 or by phone at 1-866-730-2368.

“I want to thank our partners at Pittsburgh Mercy and the City of Pittsburgh for working through the night and this morning to make the emergency shelter at 1200 Reedsdale Street available to us. County staff and partners are moving the remaining Second Avenue Commons residents out of the Convention Center today, and we thank the Convention Center again for being so accommodating during this unprecedented crisis for the last two weeks.”