More than 430,000 people called and texted the free social and human services hotline 211 or searched on its online database last year, the United Way said. That grew from almost 288,000 in 2019.
By Merideth Bucher The combination of winter, when shelter populations usually swell, and the possibility of a pandemic-related wave of evictions is putting extra pressure on shelters to prepare for an influx of people while finding ways to keep the virus from spreading.
By Merideth Bucher For weeks, the Kenney administration has hoped the residents and their supporters would “decamp voluntarily.”
Allegheny County is working to identify a location where people experiencing homelessness could go to safely isolate when they need medical help, but do not require hospitalization, a spokesperson said.
Three years ago, the city surveyed almost 130 panhandlers in Philadelphia. It learned that most people asking for money were keeping regular hours and treated it like a traditional job.
The U.S. government declared this year that 20 counties in western Pennsylvania have effectively ended veteran homelessness.
