NEWS INFORMATION FROM |
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THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED |
FOR IMMEDIATE USE |
HOMELESS SHELTERS AND SERVICES RECEIVE MAJOR BOOST; 10-YR PLAN IN THE WORKS TO FULLY END HOMELESSNESS HERE
Mayor Stephen R. Reed and Dauphin County Commissioners Jeff Haste, Nick Difrancesco and George Hartwick III today announced that the City of Harrisburg and Dauphin County, through a joint application, have secured $1,502,363 in major additional funding to support homeless shelter and homeless services. The funds include monies to construct a new facility to house chronically homeless persons who have mental illness – thus addressing a longstanding need in the community. Equally significant, the mayor and commissioners also announced the estab-lishment of a steering committee which is being charged with the duty of creating a 10-year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness for the purpose of ending recurring homelessness in the city and county Reed said: “These are major advances in the long effort to deal with home-lessness here. The added funding boosts existing services and capacity, creates an additional facility to deal with what has been the most difficult and challenging aspect of homelessness, and creates the opportunity for an end to homelessness as we have known it within the next decade.” The funds are being provided by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development through the Continuum of Care Program. The application was jointly filed by the city and county with the direct impact and participation of major shelter providers and human service agencies. “The focus is on permanent solutions to homelessness and reintegration of the individual into a position of self-sufficiency and stability. It is not enough to merely provide temporary homeless shelter space, as that alone does not solve the underlying issues of homelessness,” Reed said. Commissioner Hartwick, who oversees the Dauphin County Human Services Department, said: “The Continuum of Care Program in the county and city brings together all the homeless service providers and county and city government into one common effort to address a problem that affects us all. The funding that has been secured is a result of creative, visionary planning by the participants. It will make a difference in the quality of life in the community and in the individual lives of persons who find themselves homeless.” The funding will specifically go to: - Susquehanna Harbor Safe Haven - $933,843 – to build a new facility housing 25 chronically homeless male clients who suffer from severe mental illness, as well as expand shelter capacity to 40 beds during the colder winter months. The new beds will help to alleviate the use of downtown churches for frigid weather homeless housing. - YWCA - $338,701 – funds the Y’s ongoing homeless shelter services for Women suffering from severe mental illness, and provides mental health- Care during their transition into permanent housing. The funding provides for full capacity services for up to 19 families for three years. - Shalom House AfterCare Rental Assistance Program(SHARP) - $229,819 - provides funding for transitional housing for chronically homeless women, enabling them to attain permanent housing, and homeownership. Approximately 20 clients can be served at any given time during the three-year term of the program. |
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