BETHLEHEM, Pa. — As winter whipped through the Lehigh Valley with colder temperatures than usual this season, warming stations and emergency shelters say more people are seeking shelter.
But it's not just the cold that has prompted the increase in clients, officials at Allentown Warming Station, Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering and Safe Harbor Easton say.
The rise in shelter use comes as Lehigh Valley Planning Commission says the region's housing crisis has grown due to “suppressed housing construction” and a growing population across the area.
As a result, the area is left with a 9,000-unit housing shortage, it says.
And even the homes that are available have become too expensive for a large part of the population, officials say.
That means home insecurity and homelessness is swelling in the Lehigh Valley, they say.
And the crowding of emergency shelters is just one way that problem is manifesting.
The Warming Station
The Warming Station, in the Allentown YMCA on South 15th Street, provides shelter, food and a place to sleep for individuals experiencing homelessness in the community.
Michael Reisman, associate director of communications for River Crossing YMCA, said the Warming Station has served 266 people through February.
That's equivalent to the use of 5,988 beds, as the shelter counts every person who uses a bed each night.
“January was particularly cold and so that was the peak so far."Michael Reisman, associate director of communications for River Crossing YMCA
Reisman said the number has risen compared with this time last year. By the end of February 2024, the shelter had 208 people, which is a total of 3,520 beds used.
“January was particularly cold and so that was the peak so far,” he said.
The shelter has 60 beds, but Reisman said sometimes that isn’t enough. When there is a greater need, he said, it provides extra cots.
So far, Reisman said the shelter has not had to turn anyone away.
The Warming Station has an Amazon Wishlist, which is updated frequently based on the organization's needs.
Reisman said each item includes a comment based on priority, explaining if it is in higher or lower demand.
Some items also specify the amount the facility already has, and the amount that is currently needed.
Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering
The Rev. Bob Rapp Jr., executive director of Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering, said its shelter also has found itself at capacity.
Rapp said the shelter usually sees heightened attendance during January and February, but this year has seen consistently high numbers since it opened in November.
“Our folks want to work. But if we’re going to make that level [entry-level housing] impossible to get to, why work?”The Rev. Bob Rapp Jr., executive director of Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering
“We do have regulars, but there are a lot of new faces this year,” Rapp said.
Rapp said he’s also noticed more people ages 18 to 27 and 59 to 69 coming in.
Many folks in the older age group have worked all their lives, some have even retired, and are on Social Security, he said. He said many can’t make ends meet, as housing is becoming too expensive.
Similarly, for the younger age group, Rapp said most of them don’t have a sufficient support system.
When they turn 18, many look for, or even get, an entry-level job. But Rapp said they’re simply unable to make enough money to afford housing in the area.
“Our folks want to work,” Rapp said. “But if we’re going to make that level [entry-level housing] impossible to get to, why work?”
Safe Harbor Easton
Safe Harbor, at 536 Bushkill Drive in Easton, is a program that provides transitional shelter for homeless, single individuals.
The organization also offers a drop-in program for low-income adults and the winter shelter is open from Dec. 1 to March 31.
“It tends to happen every year, but over the past 18 months or so, it’s been an increase across the board. I mean, there’s no affordable housing in the Lehigh Valley.”Jeffrey Poch, the executive director of Safe Harbor Easton
Jeffrey Poch, the executive director of Safe Harbor Easton, said the shelter also has seen a clear increase in attendance this year.
“It tends to happen every year, but over the past 18 months or so, it’s been an increase across the board,” Poch said. “I mean, there’s no affordable housing in the Lehigh Valley.”
Poch said the shelter provides 20 beds for men and 28 beds for women, which have been full every night.
Because of reaching capacity, he said, the shelter has a waiting list.
Open 24/7 and run by 16 staff members dedicated to providing the help that they can, the shelter's resources are strained, he said.
“Without a doubt we are understaffed,” Poch said. “But then, you know, you come into issues with funding, and you got to pay the staff.”
Safe Harbors accepts monetary donations, as well as everyday items listed on its website. The shelter also takes volunteers to help provide meals.
Safe Harbor also relies on local and county funding. As of now, Poch said, its local funding has not changed, but there's a need for more supportive housing.
“It would ease what we’re trying to do on a daily basis,” he said.
Defining homelessness
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development mandates a mandatory point-in-time count of homeless people each year in January, conducted by Continuums of Care, a communitywide program that works to end homelessness.
Each state has at least one CoC program. To get a sense of the homeless population in any given area, CoCs count those experiencing homelessness, including people on the streets, in shelters and transitional housing.
In 2023, the Eastern Pennsylvania CoC concluded there were 689 people in the Lehigh Valley experiencing homelessness.
The data is collected once a year in a single night. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, that may capture a glimpse of homelessness at a single moment but doesn't reflect everyone experiencing homelessness over the course of the year.
The methodology also leaves out many who are a part of the hidden homeless population, the Government Accountability Office said.
Measuring homelessness
Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk said homelessness and home insecurity is an issue the city is trying to address, but to do so, the city needs to find a method to accurately measure the size of the homeless population.
What also makes measuring the homeless population more difficult, Tuerk said, is the varying definitions of homeless.
“I think residents think of a person who is ‘homeless’ as being somebody who is living rough on the street. But homelessness has a much wider definition.”Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk
“I think residents think of a person who is ‘homeless’ as being somebody who is living rough on the street,” Tuerk said. “But homelessness has a much wider definition.”
There are many families and individuals who may not have a home, but they are couch surfing, doubling up in single family homes, staying in motels or moving around from one city to another, he said.
That's often referred to as “hidden homelessness.” Such people don't necessarily live on the street or in a car, but don't have a home, either.
HUD does not consider people who are relying on temporary accommodations as homeless. Instead, HUD considers them as “unstably housed.”
That leaves the homeless population largely uncounted for in official homeless statistics.
Because of that technicality, congressional leaders commonly make polices and allocate resources based on insufficient data, officials said.
For example, those deemed “unstably housed” by HUD are not eligible for many federal housing assistance programs.
Addressing Valley homelessness
According to Strategic Housing Plans from Allentown and Bethlehem, the number of individuals and households experiencing homelessness in the Lehigh Valley has increased since 2020 because of a housing market spike.
Marc Rittle, executive director of New Bethany, said that in 2022, much of the federal benefits and financial support people were receiving during the COVID pandemic went away.
“We immediately saw a jump” in homelessness, Rittle said.
“It's a Band-aid at best."The Rev. Bob Rapp Jr., executive director of Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering
“Also, we saw sky-rocketing cost of living. When we saw the cost of housing specifically go through the roof, we started seeing more and more people.”
According to the City of Allentown Housing Needs Assessment and Strategic Plan, Bethlehem, Easton, Harrisburg, Scranton, Lancaster, York and Reading all have seen home prices rise more than 30% in the past five years.
In the 2023 City of Bethlehem Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness, 3 of every 10 households in the Lehigh Valley are considered cost-burdened, which means many are spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs.
In response to the ongoing housing crisis, many affordable housing units have been built, or are in the process of being built, in the Lehigh Valley.
For example, in January the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners approved a $650,000 grant to build the Walnut Square Apartments. The complex will offer four units for families earning less than 20% of the medium income and the additional 34 units will be for families earning less than 60%.
Based on how many people are coming into the Bethlehem Emergency Shelter, Rapp said he thinks there’s more work to be done.
“It's a Band-aid at best,” Rapp said.
Transitional housing
While there is a lot of discourse on lowering the cost of living and building more affordable housing, Rapp said people are not addressing what actually is considered affordable for those experiencing homelessness.
“These folks are starting all over again from zero. So even when we talk about affordable housing, the lower ends of that meaning, they can't obtain."The Rev. Bob Rapp Jr., executive director of Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering
“These folks are starting all over again from zero,” Rapp said. “So even when we talk about affordable housing, the lower ends of that meaning, they can't obtain.
"So we leave that whole group of folks out of the conversation, and I think the conversation we need to have is, 'What are we going to do?'”
One aspect Rapp said he believes needs to be addressed is the gap between transitional housing and getting entry-level housing.
He said many people get stuck in between those two stages, causing a backup in the system overall.
There are several organizations that provide programs that assist folks with transitional housing, such as New Bethany.
Rittle said the waitlist to get into a transitional housing program has 1,000 to 1,200 people on it.
Fear of losing their homes
New Bethany is not an emergency shelter; however, it does have a day shelter and meal center, which has been experiencing more traffic than usual, Rittle said.
He said that since November 2024, the day shelter and meal center attendance has never been less than 100 people.
Sometimes, he said, the number can reach 130. Over the summer, Rittle said, it usually sees 80 to 90 people at mealtimes.
“Our dining room seats about 45 to 50 people,” Rittle said. “So we have to rotate people in and out throughout the day.”
Rittle said the system works fine, but it’s definitely crowded.
Along with increased demand for meals, Rittle said he also has noticed New Bethany is getting a larger influx of calls from homeowners who are worried about losing their homes.
“Everyone, including property owners, are concerned about making enough money to live. The rules become a lot more strict and people are evicted faster than usual.”Marc Rittle, executive director of New Bethany
“Everyone, including property owners, are concerned about making enough money to live,” Rittle said. “The rules become a lot more strict, and people are evicted faster than usual.”
According to the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, eviction filings and rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels after certain tenant protections and financial assistance programs were no longer available.
As of 2023, both Lehigh and Northampton counties are in the Top 20 counties with the highest eviction rates.
Rapp said Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering started serving free meals during COVID for the homeless community, however, lately individuals who are housed also are coming in.
“What ended up happening is well over 60 percent of the folks who came to get a bagged lunch are folks who were housed in this area, who are food insecure," he said.
"And they have to choose whether they pay their rent or whether they pay for food. So they would come to us.”
Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering offers free meals on Saturday and Sunday. Rapp said most weekends they see 200 to 250 people come in.
Possible shifts in federal assistance
On top of an ongoing housing crisis, President Donald Trump’s administration has started to terminate grants to organizations that enforce the Fair Housing Act.
The grants are distributed by HUD to non-profits.
The Trump administration’s government efficiency team, also known as DOGE, has also had discussions on laying off a large sum of HUD workers.
“That reduction is going to hamper our ability to get money out to our non-profit organizations and serve the unsheltered individuals in this community,” Allentown's Tuerk said.
“So the numbers are increasing, even as the country saw some success reducing veteran homelessness, homelessness of all other folks has increased significantly."
Tuerk said Allentown is in the process of hiring an Unhoused Services Coordinator who would perform a variety of tasks in unhoused services and work with related programs around the area.
Specifically, Tuerk said, he hopes hiring someone for the position will help the city collect, analyze and report on the homeless population.
“My hope is that in Allentown, we can start to make a dent through organizations like Rittle [Community and the Y[MCA] and through investments in the unhoused service coordinator,” Tuerk said.
The Warming Station, Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering, Safe Harbor and New Bethany have not experienced drastic changes for funding as of now.
Rittle said New Bethany relies on federal funding for emergency food. That helps the organization provide free meals and fill its food pantry.
Though he said he can't tell the future, Rittle said what he has been hearing on the news concerns him. However, he said the community support has been growing.
“What I can say is that at the moment the community is very generous,” Rittle said.
The Warming Station, Bethlehem Emergency Shelter, Safe Harbor and New Bethany all accept donations on their websites.
The Warming Station, Bethlehem Emergency Shelter and New Bethany also welcome volunteers.
