Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, to let family homeless shelter remain on Our Lady of Charity property

Brookhaven will adjust its agreement of sale for the Our Lady of Charity property so that a family homeless shelter can remain open, officials said Wednesday.

The borough has been working since the beginning of the year to purchase the 7.4-acre property and keep it as open space. The site includes the school, which would be mothballed. The former convent has been leased for the past eight years to Saint Joseph’s Family Hope Center, which runs a family homeless shelter there.

The shelter’s future was thrown into doubt when borough legal officials told it last week that it would need to vacate the property by the end of the month. On Wednesday, Council President Terry Heller said the borough had always planned to keep the family shelter at that location. However, following the opinion of borough solicitor John Jay Wills, the borough was not permitted to have a borough-owned shelter under state law. After Wills’ recommendation, the borough sought advice from other legal authorities.

According to the legal and state authorities who advised council, nothing in the state Borough Code specifically prohibits a borough from operating a homeless shelter or allowing a nonprofit organization to operate one on borough property. Wills’ view rested on a narrow reading of one section of the borough code known as Dillon’s Rule, which implies that unless state law explicitly allows a borough to take a certain action, the borough lacks the authority to take it. Officials said other provisions of the Borough Code suggest a borough may permit a homeless shelter to operate on its property. Section 1202(49) authorizes boroughs to undertake community development programs, including, but not limited to, urban renewal, public housing, model cities programs and neighborhood development projects. Boroughs also have inherent police powers to uphold the health and welfare of their communities. Legal officials told council these powers authorize the borough to lease real property and could feasibly be used to allow the shelter to continue operating in Brookhaven.

On Wednesday, the borough notified the archdiocese that it will change the agreement of sale to allow Family Hope Center to remain, Heller said. He said nearly all council members were in favor, with only one member still undecided. Mayor Denise Leslie has not commented. Council will formally vote on the matter at its Oct. 28 meeting, Heller said.

James Roberts, executive director of Family Hope Center, said he was happy with the decision. “It’s what we wanted. We are happy it turned out the way it did,” Roberts said. “I don’t want to get into the legal ramifications.” Roberts said the center also has a letter from state Rep. Leanne Krueger supporting the decision.

The facility currently has three families staying in it. It has a capacity of up to 18 residents and a staff of two. Family Hope Center is one of only a handful of such facilities in Delaware County.

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