BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Federal grants totaling $187,766 will go toward emergency shelter services, primary health care and more for the unhoused populations of Bethlehem and Easton.
Emergency Solutions Grant funding, through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is normally approved for use in rapid rehousing, street outreach, homelessness prevention, emergency sheltering, data collection and related administration.
The six grants include are heading to:
- Safe Harbor Easton: $76,000 for emergency shelter services; and $9,652 to assist the county in reporting requirements using the Homeless Management Information System
- Greater Shiloh Church: $30,000 for emergency shelter services
- Third Street Alliance: $27,114 for emergency shelter services
- Bethlehem Area Shelter: $25,000 for staffing, training and other related costs
- Valley Health Partners Community Health Center: $20,000 for primary health care services at local shelters and other programs through the Street Medicine program
“The plight of the homeless is a national problem and frankly a national disgrace," Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure said in a release Monday.
"But it is our job to take care of our own small part of the world.”
Around the Lehigh Valley
The 2023 Point-in-Time Count showed about 686 people were unsheltered in Lehigh and Northampton counties, according to the Lehigh Valley Regional Homeless Advisory Board.
In August, Bethlehem applied for $1.5 million of the federal funding on behalf of local service providers.
“The plight of the homeless is a national problem and frankly a national disgrace, but it is our job to take care of our own small part of the world.”Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure
“As ESG is one of the only federal sources of homelessness prevention funding available for service providers, it is essential that the region has a submission in 2024,” Bethlehem Deputy Director of Community Development Sara Satullo wrote in an Aug. 14 memo to council.
In July, Allentown City Council voted 6-1 to approve a resolution in support of homeless people’s rights.
Weeks before, officials voted against a city Homeless Bill of Rights, following a Supreme Court decision allowing cities to fine those sleeping in public spaces.
