ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — Family Services Incorporated’s planned temporary closing and relocation is raising concerns for residents who say they weren’t given options or enough notice to find other low-income housing options.

Resident Sandy Wilson, who’s living at the current location with her fiance and two kids, a one-year-old and a two-month-old, said she was told on Thursday their family has to move out by Monday, February 13.

The late notice and early closing came as a shock to her. She said, when she and her family moved in this November, she was told a later date for the relocation.

“The closest time frame that I had seen, or anybody saw, was springtime of this year,” Wilson said.

She said she knows other residents who were told they have even less time to move out, some as early as this Sunday.

Executive Director Lisa Hann said the new location is scheduled to open the last week of February and has to remain closed until staff are trained on new equipment.

She said Family Services is more for emergency housing as residents try to find permanent homes.

“We always let people know, you’re here for 30 days, you sign a contract, and at the end of 30 days you should expect to move on,” Hann said, “Adding days can be extended once those 30 days are up.”

However, Wilson said she never signed a contract, and she checked the shelter’s list of rules.

“There’s nothing in the rules that says anything about 30 days or extending stays or anything like that,” Wilson said.

The shelter’s information page doesn’t mention a 30-day stay or contract.

It does, however, mention case management services are “provided to assist in job training, employment, accessing social services, and appropriate housing.”

Wilson said those services are available, but they’re not very extensive, and some resources, like a list of landlords to contact for permanent housing, are outdated.

Wilson said she and her family need more time — and methods — to find housing.

“We’ve been looking since day one,” Wilson said, referring to the first day they moved into Family Services on Nov. 8, 2022. “We Uber, because we don’t have a vehicle, so we’re paying all this money to go look at places and on applications, and it’s no guarantee you’re even going to get a place.”

She said some landlords are difficult to work with, while others just don’t want to deal with low-income families.

Hann said current residents can currently apply for arrangements at the new location.

“They’ll have to get on the byname list that’s kept through Blair County Community Action,” Hann said. “They’ll be prioritized.”

Wilson said she plans to get on the list, and from the day they move out until the new one opens, their only option is to couch surf.

She added she and her family are lucky to have friends to live with temporarily, and other residents she spoke with don’t have the same option.

If you’re in immediate need of a shelter, you can call the 211 hotline, or text your zip code to 898-211, which connects Pennsylvanians to resource specialists. Both are available 24/7.

Family Services’ information page says its shelter is free and open 24/7, 365 days a year.