{"id":31994,"date":"2022-06-28T10:53:21","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T14:53:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=31994"},"modified":"2022-06-28T10:53:24","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T14:53:24","slug":"chesco-efforts-to-cut-homelessness-succeeding-with-rate-dropping-by-23-since-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=31994","title":{"rendered":"Chesco efforts to cut homelessness succeeding, with rate dropping by 23% since 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Members of the team conducting Chester County\u2019s Point in Time count, the annual count mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which took place in January. Results of the County\u2019s Point in Time count showed a 23% reduction in people experiencing homelessness over a two-year period.<\/p><\/div>\n

Chester County\u2019s concerted effort to place more homeless individuals and families into permanent homes is paying off. The latest Point in Time count by the Chester County Department of Community Development shows a decrease in homelessness of 23%.<\/p>\n

The count, mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), was taken in the late evening on January 26, 2022, to the early morning hours of January 27. It showed that 402 people were experiencing homelessness, meaning they were living in a temporary shelter or sleeping in a place not meant for human habitation such as a car, park, abandoned building, bus station or camping ground.<\/p>\n

The last survey in January 2020, tallied 522 people as homeless in the county.<\/p>\n

While the Point in Time data shows only a snapshot of homelessness in the county, the count serves as a valuable tool for measuring the depth of the problem and shows the need for more affordable housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe results of this year\u2019s Point in Time count are extremely encouraging and a direct result of the dedicated work by the Chester County Partnership to End Homelessness<\/a>,\u201d said County Commissioners\u2019 Chair Marian Moskowitz. \u201cAt the same time, we must recognize in a county with our means, having 400 people still homeless is tragic and entirely too many. A lot of work remains to be done, and I believe we have shown our commitment to doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Children account for nearly one-fourth of the 402 people experiencing homelessness while people of color make up almost half of the total.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that 100 children in our county remain homeless is heartbreaking. Not having a stable home places them at a severe disadvantage at the earliest points in their lives,\u201d said County Commissioner Josh Maxwell. \u201cFortunately, we have taken actions to prevent these numbers from increasing, such as appointing street outreach coordinators, establishing the 211 call system, and developing an eviction prevention court program, which helps to keep families in their homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chester County\u2019s Street Outreach Coordinators work on the front lines, building relationships as they conduct homeless verification for people living in places not meant for human habitation, or who are in a shelter, transitional housing, or are exiting a place where they may temporarily reside.<\/p>\n

Chester County\u2019s Eviction Prevention Court, a program developed with Friends Association for Care & Protection of Children, the Chester County Clerk of Courts Office and Chester County Courts, provides a combination of legal representation, financial assistance and social services for individuals or families facing eviction.\u00a0 It currently operates in district courts in Downingtown, Coatesville, South Coatesville, and Valley Township.<\/p>\n

For perspective on how progress has accelerated, during the four-year period from 2017 to 2020, the homeless count decreased by only 48 people, from 570 to 522. This latest report shows a decrease of 120 people over the last two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is reassuring to see the correlation between the steps the County has taken and the results,\u201d noted Commissioner Michelle Kichline.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we also know that the pandemic impacted practices and procedures that needed to be changed to support those experiencing homelessness, or who were on the verge of homelessness,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Using federal funds, the County created the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), making money available for low-income households unable to pay rent or utilities.<\/p>\n

Chester County\u2019s Partnership to End Homelessness, the only community-based collaborative, brings together community agencies, local government, private and public organizations, nonprofits, foundations, faith communities and people who have lived experience of homelessness.<\/p>\n

Rob Henry, Chester County Partnership to End Homelessness\u2019 administrator, said the collaborative\u2019s commitment to ending and preventing homelessness is stronger than ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrograms like ERAP certainly helped to keep people who are renting, and who need help with utilities, in their homes, which was crucial throughout the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mission is to ensure that homelessness is a rare, brief, and one-time only experience for any resident of Chester County,\u201d he said. \u201cWe know the formula. We see that it is working. And we hope that every resident of Chester County is proud of their contribution to bring dignity and compassion to our neighbors who need it most.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chester County\u2019s concerted effort to place more homeless individuals and families into permanent homes is paying off. The latest Point in Time count by the Chester County Department of Community Development shows a decrease in homelessness of 23%. The count, mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), was taken in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[20,3912,6954,11444],"class_list":["post-31994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-chester-county","tag-featured","tag-homelessness","tag-point-in-time-survey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31994"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31995,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31994\/revisions\/31995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}