You do not have to speak to stand with us.

Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Please arrive by 9:30 AM
Meeting begins at 10:00 AM

City-County Building
414 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Enter the building and use the Grant Street elevators to reach the fifth floor. Come inside the City Council Chambers.

The accessible entrance is located on Ross Street.

You do not have to register if you are only attending to show support. Come inside, join the community, and help us fill the room. Bring friends, coworkers, neighbors, and organization members.

The more community support City officials see, the stronger our message becomes.

                                       https://maps.google.com/?q=414+Grant+Street+Pittsburgh+PA+15219

ROOTS—Reaching Out On The Streets—is a City program created to reduce homelessness, connect people with essential services, and provide support during moments of crisis.

The ROOTS center at 519 East Ohio Street is the program’s last remaining fixed drop-in location following the closure of its Downtown and East Liberty sites. For more than two years, people have relied on this location to:

• Receive important mail
• Obtain identification documents and birth certificates
• Connect with housing and county assistance
• Access healthcare and substance-use services
• Receive water and other basic necessities
• Meet directly with case managers and service providers
• Find dependable help during moments of crisis

The City plans to close the East Ohio Street center on October 2 after deciding not to renew its current lease.

This is happening even as substantial public funding has been invested in ROOTS. In 2022, Pittsburgh City Council approved a nearly $10 million agreement with Allegheny Health Network to expand the program. In 2026, the Office of Community Health and Safety received an additional $800,000 from Allegheny County to expand ROOTS outreach, staffing, supplies, and vehicles.

That funding supports the broader ROOTS program—not necessarily the East Ohio Street building—but a program designed to serve people in crisis still needs a dependable place where people can find it. The City’s own description of ROOTS identifies both street outreach and drop-in sites as parts of the program.

Although officials say street outreach will continue, outreach cannot replace a consistent physical location. The City has not announced a replacement center, transition plan, or reopening date.

Closing the last remaining drop-in center before another plan exists will immediately disrupt access to mail, identification documents, housing connections, healthcare, and other essential resources. That is not a transition. It is an immediate loss of services for people who depend on them.

ROOTS must remain open at 519 East Ohio Street.

If ROOTS closes on October 2, the crisis begins immediately.

There is no replacement center, no transition plan, and no reopening date. The City is preparing to remove the last fixed ROOTS location just as colder weather begins.

For people living outside or without stable housing, a dependable physical location is not a convenience it is a lifeline. It provides warmth, water, basic necessities, phone charging, reliable mail access, and direct connections to people who can help.

Losing access to these resources can trigger a devastating chain reaction. A missed letter can mean losing a housing opportunity, benefits, identification documents, medical information, or employment. A dead phone or lost connection with a provider can leave someone unable to get help when they need it most.

As winter approaches, basic needs become matters of safety and survival. A warm room, a bottle of water, a hot drink, or help before a crisis escalates can determine whether someone remains safe or ends up in a hospital, shelter, emergency response, or life-threatening situation.

Street outreach cannot replace this. Outreach workers must locate people across the city. A fixed center allows people to seek help before an emergency occurs. These are two different services, and both are necessary.

No other organization is staffed, funded, equipped, or prepared to absorb the people and services that will be displaced. Pittsburgh’s shelters, healthcare providers, food programs, crisis responders, and community organizations are already operating beyond capacity.

City officials have repeatedly heard from a small number of people calling for ROOTS to close. Those voices cannot be allowed to speak for the entire community or outweigh the safety and survival of the people who will carry the consequences.

This is not a future concern. This is an immediate and preventable emergency.

KEEP ROOTS OPEN.

ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS

This community action is organized by TransYOUniting through the QMNTY Continuum.

TransYOUniting is a Black trans led nonprofit providing housing support, food access, transportation, advocacy, workforce development, and direct community services across Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

The QMNTY Continuum is a collaborative program operated by TransYOUniting and Proud Haven. It brings several programs and services together through one coordinated system of community support.

Our work centers TLGBQIA people and community members most impacted by systemic barriers, while remaining open and welcoming to everyone who needs assistance.

The QMNTY Continuum includes:

• QMNTY Center, providing drop in support, case management, support groups, computer access, referrals, and community programming

• QMNTY Pantry and Café, providing free groceries, hot meals, and food assistance

• QMNTY Closet, providing free clothing, hygiene products, and basic necessities

• YOUr Haven Housing, providing emergency and longer term housing support

• Transportation, outreach, and connections to appointments and essential resources

WHY WE ARE SPEAKING UP

We operate on East Ohio Street. Alongside ROOTS and other front line providers, we are part of a small network of organizations that people depend on for food, housing support, healthcare connections, basic necessities, crisis assistance, and safety.

Together, we form a village of care. Each organization carries an essential part of the work required to keep people connected, supported, and alive.

That village is already fragile.

The QMNTY Continuum is experiencing serious financial pressure following significant funding losses. Demand continues to rise while our existing staff, funding, and resources are already stretched to sustain the services people currently depend on.

The impact of this closure will not end when the doors at ROOTS close.

The people who depend on ROOTS will still be on East Ohio Street. They will still need mail access, identification, housing connections, healthcare, food, basic necessities, and support during moments of crisis. Those needs will immediately fall more heavily on the organizations that remain, but no additional funding, staff, or resources will come with them.

ROOTS is one of the main anchors holding this village together. Removing it will place even greater pressure on every organization that remains and could destabilize services that are already fighting to survive.

A village cannot lose one of its strongest supports and be expected to carry the same weight without breaking.

Leaving underfunded community organizations to absorb the consequences of this closure is not a transition plan. It is not sustainable, and it places the greatest danger on the people who have the fewest alternatives.

We are organizing because this decision threatens more than one program. It threatens the stability of the entire network of care on East Ohio Street and the safety of every person who depends on it.

Councilman Bobby Wilson represents District 1, where ROOTS is located.

Call: 412-255-2135

Email: district1@pittsburghpa.gov

Everyone can contact his office. If you live in District 1, identify yourself as his constituent and name your neighborhood.

One call is not enough. Continue calling and emailing respectfully until the City takes action.

Ask one direct question:

What specific action will Councilman Wilson take before October 2 to keep ROOTS open?

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU CALL

Hello, my name is ________. I am calling about the planned October 2 closure of ROOTS at 519 East Ohio Street.

ROOTS is not being relocated. The City is closing the physical center without another building, a transition plan, or a reopening date.

This location provides essential services that community organizations do not have the staff, space, or funding to replace.

I am asking Councilman Wilson to publicly fight to keep ROOTS open at its current location and support renewing or extending the lease.

What specific action will he take before October 2?

HOW TO BEGIN YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT

Good morning. My name is ________, and I am here to demand that ROOTS remain open at 519 East Ohio Street.

This is not a relocation. The City is closing the center without another building or a plan to preserve access to its fixed-site services.

ROOTS is an essential part of our community’s support system. The organizations that remain do not have the staffing, space, or funding to absorb this loss.

I am asking the City to stop the October 2 closure, renew or extend the lease, and keep ROOTS fully operating on East Ohio Street.

After this opening, briefly explain:

• Why ROOTS matters to you

• How you or someone you know has been helped

• What the closure will mean for your organization or community

• Why street outreach cannot replace a physical center

• Why keeping the current location open matters