Jeanette Wolfberg is reporting for The Columbia Paper according to the Columbia County Department of Social Services, as of April 23, 65 individuals in 53 households were receiving temporary housing at 10 separate locations, under the department's direction. Twelve of the 53 households were lodged within 2 miles of the DSS office in Hudson; however, 55 percent of the 53 were sheltered more than 20 miles away. The average distance was 16.5 miles. DSS accommodates its clients in need of temporary housing at motels with space willing to take its clients. The department found lodging within Columbia County for just over half of the 53 households. The remaining people were placed in Rensselaer and Greene counties. In general, the number of households requiring shelter decreases as the weather warms. “[A]t our highest point this winter we were housing 99 individuals” in about 72 families, said Robert Gibson, the DSS commissioner. “The average length of stay is generally between three and six months,” he said. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.