West Chester, Pa (June 17, 2024) – Eleven organizations working to prevent homelessness and promote housing affordability in communities across Chester County were awarded more than $3.1 million in total state funding to support their efforts, state Senator Carolyn Comitta announced.
“Investments in promoting housing affordability and preventing homelessness benefit our entire community,” said state Senator Carolyn Comitta. “When every resident has a safe, healthy place to call home, our economy thrives, public safety improves, and our neighborhoods and municipalities flourish. I want to thank the organizations across Chester County that are working to help residents stay in their homes and access affordable housing opportunities.”
The funding was approved by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) through the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) program.
The recipients are as follows:
• $800,000 for the Chester County Department of Community Development’s Coordinated Entry Structure Enhancement. The funds will expand the department’s ongoing efforts to end homelessness by supporting its Coordinated Entry Call Center, Street Outreach Team, emergency housing coordination, and strategic planning efforts.
• $400,000 for the Domestic Violence Center of Chester County. Domestic violence is one of the leading reasons individuals experience homelessness. Half the funding will support renovations and upgrades to its emergency shelter and transitional housing facility, aimed at increasing operational efficiency and program support there, as well as serving more adults and children fleeing domestic violence. The other half will support counseling services and expand current programs to support more victim-survivors.
“The Domestic Violence Center is extremely grateful to receive two – $200,000 PHARE grants which will significantly provide the funding to continue serving survivors of domestic violence and to maintain our life saving services! We are extremely grateful for the funding opportunity and to be selected to receive the awards,” said Dolly Wideman-Scot, Chief Executive Officer of the Domestic Violence Center.
• $450,000 for the Housing Authority of Chester County’s Housing Opportunity Program (formerly the Housing Locator Program). Along with Case Management and Landlord Risk Reduction Funds, the program assists low-income residents in securing a unit based on their specific needs and becoming successfully and permanently housed.
• $450,000 for the Friends Association for Care & Protection of Children. $250,000 will support the NIA House, a transitional housing program for women returning to Coatesville after incarceration. In addition to housing, the program provides supportive services focused on economic empowerment, long-term housing, healing from trauma, health and well-being, peer support, and family reunification, as well as a leadership development.
$200,000 will support the Friends Association’s Eviction Prevention Case Resolution (EPCR) Program. It is the only program in Chester County solely focused on eviction prevention that provides day-of-court legal services to households facing eviction actions. Helping households that lack appropriate legal representation, knowledge of their rights, and access to financial relief to navigate the eviction process, EPCR is designed to proactively prevent displacement, stabilize communities, and ensure housing equity.
“We are excited to be approved for this level of funding through the PHARE grant. We are making such great strides with our EPCR Program, and these funds will definitely be used to support and grow this program to benefit our community members, keeping them housed. As well, the funds supporting our NIA program support reentrants and their children though their re-integration process in the community, to gaining or regaining housing stability,” said Joyce Chester, Chief Executive Officer of the Friends Association.
• $100,000 for Open Hearth’s Targeted Homelessness Resource Coordination Program (THRC). The THRC program is a community-wide effort to end homelessness in Chester County led by a program coordinator. The coordinator coordinates with shelters, partner agencies, and county representatives to create and maintain a list of those experiencing homelessness and work with all housing providers to prioritize them for permanent housing.
• $200,000 for Brandywine Valley Active Aging to support the Community Resource Navigator/Intensive Case Management program. The funding will expand an existing program serving all residents who are homeless, at risk for homelessness or housing insecurity, or disaster survivors, and solidify the implementation of mobile services introduced in the past year.
• $400,000 for the Housing Partnership of Chester County’s (HPCC) Rehabilitation Program. The funds will be used to identify, purchase, rehabilitate, and sell properties in under-resourced neighborhoods to graduates of HPCC’s First Time Home Buyer Program, which assists low-to-moderate income families in buying their first home.
“These funds will allow the Housing Partnership of Chester County to expand its purchase/rehab/resell program as well as to enhance the expansion of the conservatorship efforts with County municipalities around abandoned and dilapidated properties—all focused on increasing the inventory available for First Time Home Buyers. Every worker in Chester County should be able to live in the community where they work. That simply is not the case today, but it could be if enough people cared to make it so. This funding is a start on making that goal a reality,” said HPCC Executive Director Ken Hutton.
• $250,000 for Safe Harbor of Chester County for its Emergency Shelter, Case Management, After-Care Services, and Resident Success Program. The funds support Safe Harbor in providing emergency shelter, food, resources, and services to single adult men and women in Chester County. In addition to ongoing Case Management Services, a Resident Success Program, and After-Care support for all individuals residing at the shelter, day programs include skill-building workshops, employment training classes, and counseling and empowerment support services.
“The team at Safe Harbor of Chester County is profoundly grateful and excited to be awarded this funding from PHARE, which will allow us to enhance and create impactful programming and after-care services to the individuals we serve. These funds will only strengthen our mission to have a positive and long-lasting impact on ending homelessness and food insecurity in Chester County,” said Safe Harbor Executive Director Jessica Chappel.
• $12,000 for ACT in Faith of Greater West Chester for Homelessness Prevention Services. ACT in Faith provides services to the un- and under-employed to address issues that hinder self-sustainability and household stability, including support for Housing Stabilization rent, utilities, security deposits, and fuel) and Employment Support programs (transportation costs).
• $25,000 for North Star of Chester County for its Homelessness Prevention and Self-Sufficiency Program for Single Working Parents. The funding will support North Star’s long-term homelessness prevention and self-sufficiency program, which aims to help working single-parent families remain in their homes and move toward self-sufficiency. The program provides ongoing rental assistance, paid directly to landlords, to help families maintain housing and offers budget counseling and financial mentorship to guide parents toward financial independence.
“We are grateful to the PHFA for supporting our mission and funding our efforts when they’re needed most. Many single parent families in our community are struggling with rising rents and a higher cost of living. These funds ensure the single-parent families in our program will remain housed while we work towards achieving their long-term goals— from building savings, achieving financial independence, or even becoming homeowners,” said Donald Neimtez, Executive Director of North Star of Chester County.
• $75,000 for Kennett Area Community Service (KACS) to support its Homeless Prevention, Housing Stability, Diversion, Emergency Housing, Rapid Rehousing, and Eviction Prevention program. Part of KACS’s Emergency Assistance Program for families and individuals experiencing a housing crisis in the Southern Chester County region, the funds will expand its existing program to offer eviction services for households in need.
The PHARE Fund was established by Act 105 of 2010 to assist with the creation, rehabilitation, and support of affordable housing throughout Pennsylvania. The program is funded through the Realty Transfer Tax Fund.