This photo shows the corner office space at 28 Penn Square, which has been leased to the Lancaster County Housing & Redevelopment Authorities after standing vacant for five years.
PPM Real Estate
Feds cut funding for Lancaster County homelessness services
By Jade Campos/LNP | LancasterOnline
PPM Real Estate
This photo shows the corner office space at 28 Penn Square, which has been leased to the Lancaster County Housing & Redevelopment Authorities after standing vacant for five years.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the name of nonprofit Lodge Life Services.
A $580,000 cut to programs to combat homelessness in Lancaster County won’t be restored after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development denied an appeal filed by a county agency.
HUD announced in January, while Joe Biden was still president, that it would not fund the county Homelessness Coalition’s local outreach and coordinated entry programs, which connect people without housing with crucial assistance like mental health treatment and shelter beds.
The redevelopment authority, which houses the homelessness coalition, appealed the cuts in February, but officials learned Tuesday that the appeal was denied. Justin Eby, the authority’s executive director, announced HUD’s decision during a redevelopment authority board meeting that day.
“At this point, what we’ve learned is HUD usually does not approve appeals. They usually stick to (their decisions). That’s why we’ve been working this whole time to come up with other solutions,” Eby said.
The cuts include roughly $190,000 combined for both services, amounting to around 48% of the $398,597 that the county’s Redevelopment Authority plans to spend on the two programs when its budget year begins in July. HUD cut another $173,716 for the county’s data entry program that service providers use to track information on people who are experiencing homelessness.
All three programs are required by HUD, though the agency is not mandated to fund them.
HUD’s denial letter to the county said its decision was not an error, which the authority claimed in its appeal. HUD said the Homelessness Coalition did not score high enough in its funding application to receive all of the funds required.
Mary Frances Kenion, the vice president of training and technical assistance for the National Alliance to End Homelessness, said every homelessness service provider (called Continuums of Care) competes for HUD funding with other providers nationwide on an annual basis.
HUD assesses each provider as a part of the application process. A provider that receives a lower score from HUD, Kenion said, could be more susceptible to cuts during a competitive application year. If HUD decides to make cuts, it considers a “priority list” that each local provider includes with its application. The Lancaster County programs that were cut by HUD all were ranked as lower priority on the county’s grant application.
The authority did not appeal an additional $258,381 cut made by HUD to a housing program offered through Lancaster County’s Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. Officials said they had expected the funds were likely to be cut, and they ranked it last on the county’s priority list.
READ: Lancaster County homelessness falls slightly this year but remains high
Bigger cuts possible
Deb Jones, leader of the county’s Homelessness Coalition, said the HUD cuts mean there will be less money dedicated to different service providers for shelter and outreach services in the new budget year starting July 1. All county homelessness services grants, distributed to local nonprofits, will be smaller than anticipated, she said.
“We believe it’s enough to continue the services,” Jones said, adding, “The whole system is underfunded and yet, we keep saying, ‘Do more, do more, do more.’ What other industry would do that? … Homelessness, or the crisis response system, is asked to do that year after year.”
Outreach and coordinated entry services will be covered by Community Development Block Grants, a separate pool of HUD money. A mix of funding sources will cover other homelessness services grants, including the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency funds, federal Emergency Solutions Grant funds and a Lancaster County Community Foundation grant. Officials are still figuring out a new funding source for the data program.
But Jones warned the county could lose more federal funding. For example, HUD awarded the county $2.6 million in January to cover rapid rehousing programs, as well as permanent supportive housing through Tenfold and outreach services for nonprofit ECHOS.
That money, Jones said, was approved during the final weeks of Biden’s administration, so there’s a chance President Donald Trump’s administration could decide to withhold the funds, which are slated to be paid in the fall.
READ: Steering the ship: Lancaster County outreach workers act as crucial piece to homelessness response
Community impact
A few nonprofits were also affected by HUD’s January cuts.
Community Action Partnership is facing a $60,134 cut that Executive Director Vanessa Philbert said entirely funds a role that provides specialized support to domestic violence survivors who are experiencing homelessness.
Philbert said the nonprofit’s leaders have already identified money in their own budget to cover the position through the end of the year. CAP provides educational, housing and medical resources to low-income people.
Community Basics, which manages affordable rental properties, appealed a $156,174 cut to its Lincoln and Fordney House apartments that are home to 22 people who are experiencing homelessness and struggling with their mental health. Lisa Greener, the nonprofit’s executive director, said she has not heard from HUD about the appeal status but assumed it was denied along with the county’s appeal.
The cuts will not put anyone out onto the streets, Greener said. Residents, however, will have to go with less “supportive services,” which she said includes education and benefits assistance provided by nonprofit Lodge Life Services. The HUD dollars funded the entire supportive services budget for both apartment complexes.
Greener said the grant was set to end this Saturday, though HUD on Wednesday morning approved the nonprofit’s request to use remaining funds through the end of July. She predicted the money won’t last through July, though.
“We will make sure every penny of that existing grant is spent,” Greener said.
Beginning July 1, Community Basics will receive a homelessness services grant from the county to offset funds it lost from HUD. That grant, Greener said, will prevent a total elimination of supportive services at the Lincoln and Fordney housing complexes. However, with a smaller grant, Greener anticipates services will be reduced.
Dee Stoudt, president and CEO of Lodge Life Services, said the nonprofit will only receive 75% of the money it originally requested and, as a result, weekend staff hours could be cut. Officials are still determining what the impacts will be.
The authority’s 10% grant match requirement could also be a barrier for the small nonprofit. Stoudt said Lodge Life Services must come up with $7,000 to receive the money, an amount it does not currently have on hand. She said leaders hope to raise the matching funds through community donations.
Any agency that receives a grant from the county’s Redevelopment Authority is required to provide a 10% match.
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