People facing homelessness can get help fast through the county’s new Emergency Housing Discretionary Fund.
County commissioners approved the fund at their meeting on Jan. 11. It’s financed by the Wayne County Community Foundation and the county’s housing department. The housing department will provide $10,000 through Act 137, the Optional County Affordable Housing Act. It allows governments to create housing trust funds for county-based projects. The Community Foundation gave $2,000 and will be applying for additional funding through grants and donations.
The Community Foundation’s CEO and President Ryanne Jennings said the fund is like a parachute for people who are running out of options.
“This is really that last ditch effort, that if there is not additional funding available through state and federal aid, that we still have a pot of money that can be tapped for people who fall outside of those programs,” said Jennings. “And also, that they are then connected with case management with the housing department at the county.”
Jennings said plans started a year ago when they released their Housing Needs Assessment. It highlighted how rental and housing costs are outpacing resident incomes.
“Wayne County, I think historically had been seen somewhere that had kind of a low standard of living,” said Jennings. “But people are traveling out of the county to work, to have higher wages. And the rent here just skyrocketed during COVID. And so, you might find a one-bedroom apartment for like $1,100, $1,200 dollars.”
Around 23 percent of Wayne County households are cost-burdened according to their study. Cost-burdened families pay at least 30 percent of their income to housing costs. They often do not have enough money left over to cover other needs, like food or clothing.
There are no homeless shelters in Wayne County, so Jennings said community organizations need to get creative.
“We know that this is a band-aid solution. This is not a systemic fix of housing…but we know that in the winter months especially, people who are experiencing homelessness need a place to stay,” said Jennings.
The program will cover needs that cannot be addressed by existing housing aid, like purchasing a dumpster to ease hoarding situations or providing gift cards for emergency groceries, according to Heather Mizsler. She is the director of the county’s housing department.
“We do have so many programs, but sometimes these issues happen after hours,” said Mizsler. “Like, the police don’t know what to do with someone who’s sleeping homeless on the street. This would be a remedy. A gas card – someone who was fleeing domestic violence…who is isolated from their family, ‘Here’s a gas card or a bus ticket to get back to your family.’”
Beyond the newly created fund, Jennings mentioned that she recently spoke with Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office.
“And just yesterday, I was invited to a phone conversation with Governor Shapiro’s office with Northeastern Pennsylvania representatives and [we] shared our housing study and it was focused on housing in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Jennings.
According to Jennings, that meeting was a listening session with housing organizations from across Northeastern Pennsylvania. Potential housing legislation was discussed.
