Wolf Administration: More Than $5 Million (ESG FY20) in Funding

Wolf Administration: More Than $5 Million (ESG FY20) in Funding for Homelessness Assistance, Promoting Affordable Housing
Posted by Brendan Auman

Harrisburg, PA — Today, Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Dennis Davin announced more than $5 million in funding is available for assisting homeless families in finding housing and combatting homelessness across the commonwealth. The funding is provided through the federal Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program.
“The Wolf Administration is committed to combatting homelessness and providing reliable, safe, and affordable housing options to residents across Pennsylvania, and the ESG funding plays a major role in this effort,” said Sec. Davin. “This funding provides critical and necessary resources and assistance to communities striving to find resolution for homeless residents and support homelessness prevention programs.”
The 2020 ESG funding eligibility falls into six categories: rapid rehousing, homelessness prevention, street outreach, emergency shelter, homeless management information systems (HMIS), and administration. Rapid rehousing helps individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness, fleeing violence, or living in a home not suitable for human habitation to swiftly move to stable housing. Homelessness prevention resources help families or individuals who are currently housed but may be in jeopardy of losing their homes with rental assistance and case management resources. Street outreach connects unsheltered homeless individuals with emergency shelter and/or health services. Emergency shelter funding supports costs associated with essential services, operating expenses, and renovations necessary to provide emergency shelter.
It is authorized by McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act as amended by the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009.
Priority for funding is given to applicants representing areas of the commonwealth that do not already receive a direct allocation of Emergency Solutions Grant funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
A total of $5,480,359 in ESG funding was approved for the following counties:
Allegheny County – $176,375
Armstrong County – $191,938
Beaver County – $31,125
Blair County – $282,589
Bucks County – $114,125
Butler County – $60,383
CAP of Cambria* – $166,000
Carbon County – $55,000
Center for Community Action* – $153,550
Central Susquehanna Opportunity* – $321,781
Clinton County* – $302,950
Cumberland County – $128,650
Dauphin County – $103,750
Franklin County – $176,375
Indiana County – $105,618
Lawrence County* – $1,720,417
Lehigh County* – $207,500
McKean County – $180,525
Mercer County – $150,438
Monroe County* – $295,688
Montgomery County – $119,313
Schuylkill County – $268,713
Union-Snyder Community Action Agency* – $66,400
Wayne County – $101,156
Asterisks note a regional grant.
CAP of Cambria will distribute funding to Blair and Cambria counties.
Center for Community Action will distribute funding to Bedford, Fulton, Huntington, Mifflin, and Juniata counties.
Central Susquehanna Opportunities will distribute funding to Columbia, Montour, and Northumberland counties.
Clinton County will distribute funding to Bradford, Clinton and Lycoming counties.
Lawrence County will distribute funding to a 20-county area, including Armstrong, Beaver, Blair, Butler, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clarion, Crawford, Delaware, Elk, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Potter, Venango, and Warren counties.
Lehigh County will distribute funding to Lehigh and Northampton counties.
Monroe County will distribute funding to Monroe and Pike counties.
Union-Snyder CAA will distribute funding to Union and Snyder counties.
For more information about the Department of Community and Economic Development, visit the DCED website, and be sure to stay up-to-date with all of our agency news on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Casey Smith, DCED, casesmith@pa.gov