Pennsylvania Awards $5.3M in Grants to Combat Homelessness Statewide

Harrisburg, PA – Today, Rick Siger, Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), announced the approval of $5,330,914 in Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) for municipalities and nonprofits dedicated to aiding homeless individuals and families in securing housing. This funding will benefit 14 municipal grantees and seven nonprofit organizations across 50 counties, along with one statewide initiative.

Governor Josh Shapiro has made addressing homelessness and ensuring access to affordable housing a primary focus. The federal ESG funds are designed to assist homeless individuals in securing housing swiftly, prevent homelessness, offer street outreach services, support emergency shelters, and gather secure data to better understand the needs of the homeless population.

“Under Governor Shapiro’s leadership, we are tackling housing challenges head-on and providing real support and opportunity for all Pennsylvanians,” stated Secretary Siger. “This ESG funding will be used by trusted community organizations to provide essential resources to help individuals and families across the Commonwealth find or maintain housing.”

The complete list of approved projects is available on the DCED website:

Highlighted regional grant allocations include:

• Central: Center for Community Action is allocated $400,000 for homelessness prevention initiatives in Bedford, Blair, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, and Mifflin counties. This funding will support rental assistance, street outreach, and necessary staffing and training.
• Lehigh Valley: City of Bethlehem receives $400,000 to address homelessness and housing insecurity in Lehigh and Northampton counties. The funds will be utilized for emergency shelter services, homelessness prevention, rapid rehousing, and street outreach.
• Northeast: Monroe County is granted $232,500 to provide services through partners in Monroe and Pike counties, focusing on homelessness and housing insecurity.
• Northwest: Lawrence County Social Service Inc. receives $1,055,000 to support efforts in multiple counties, aiming to reduce homelessness by 50%. The funding will assist 300 households via emergency shelters, 114 through rapid rehousing, and offer homelessness prevention and street outreach services to additional households.
• Southeast: Bucks County is allocated $165,000 for operating the Bucks County Emergency Homeless Shelter and A Woman’s Place’s domestic violence shelter, along with supporting the Bucks County Opportunity Council’s efforts in housing location.
• Southwest: Butler County receives $250,000 for activities through various subgrantees, including emergency shelter and rapid rehousing services, as well as financial assistance for homelessness prevention.

Statewide initiative:

• The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence is granted $350,000 to provide emergency shelter to homeless domestic violence clients across 12 sub-recipients in Pennsylvania, with a focus on using hotel/motel vouchers.

The ESG funds are authorized by the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009.

Priority is given to groups in regions of the Commonwealth that do not receive direct ESG allocations from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Enhancing housing availability across Pennsylvania is a central goal of the Commonwealth’s Economic Development Strategy, marking the first such plan in nearly 20 years.