Michael’s Place closing in Garfield
St. Vincent de Paul home aided offenders
A program in Garfield that aids men returning from incarceration and assists them with living independently will close.
The brick Victorian home that houses Michael’s Place at 501 N. Negley Ave. is for sale, listed for $575,000.
“Unfortunately, we have some financial challenges right now. We can’t sustain the program,” said Susan Oliver-Stough, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Council of Pittsburgh.
Residents are being relocated to other programs that can assist them or moving out to live independently, if they are able, she said.
“We aren’t just throwing people out on the street,” she said.
The program “provides compassionate help that encompasses residents’ spiritual, physical, psychological, and social well-being,” according to an online description, which states that the program has operated since 2001.
When Michael’s Place residents graduate, they “will be employed full-time, have a bank account with enough money to establish a place to live, and will have made arrangement for a healthy place to live,” according to a description of the program on the Society of St. Vincent de Paul website. “In addition, he will have established a support system he can rely on for assistance when meeting the stresses that accompany independent living.”
According to the website, the society serves more than 100,000 Pittsburghers annually through aid with clothing, furniture, utility and rental assistance, indigent burial, food and Michael’s Place. The nonprofit operates six thrift stores that help fund its programs.
Ms. Oliver-Stough said the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is reorganizing and the sale is necessary to stabilize the organization’s finances.
The organization’s most recently available tax forms list expenses for Michael’s Place of $384,694.
“We’re sad to see the program go. A lot of lives have been saved and helped through Michael’s Place over the years,” she said.
Resident Matt Ptasinski, 40, who works as a carpenter, said Michael’s Place assisted him greatly.
“It was heartbreaking for me” to find out the facility was closing, he said. “I love that program … I wouldn’t have 15 months sober if it wasn’t for that place.”
Many of the residents would have difficulty obtaining housing otherwise, he said, because of previous incarceration, past homelessness and poor credit.
“It’s a shame that that program is shutting down. What they do there is change people’s lives,” he said.
An online real estate listing touts the property’s North Negley location as well as its proximity to Bakery Square, Highland Park and Shadyside and a bus stop at the front door.
“Exceptionally high ceilings, intricate woodwork and an unheard of triple lot make this the right pick for the savvy urban investor,” state online listings with Coldwell Banker and Northwood Realty Services.