The Chester County Department of Community Development (DCD) recently received a $375,000 PHARE (Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement) award from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. DCD will use the funds for its Street Outreach and Data Team reinforcement efforts, which helps to serve the needs of unsheltered Chester County residents.
The DCD award was part of more than $3 million in funding given to organizations throughout Chester County that help ensure housing security, assist people experiencing homelessness, build new affordable housing, and provide case management. Many of these organizations are partners of the Chester County Partnership to End Homelessness, located within the Department of Community Development.
Dolores Colligan, Director of the Chester County Department of Community Development said, “Housing instability and access to affordable housing are critical issues within Chester County. This PHARE award will allow our Street Outreach program to make its data tracking capabilities more robust through timely verification, intervention, and reporting.
“The work of the Street Outreach Team, along with readily available data, contribute significantly to the goal of making homelessness in Chester County rare, brief, and non-recurring.”
Since the pandemic began in 2020, Chester County’s Street Outreach Team has assisted unsheltered Chester County individuals and families in finding suitable shelter. For more information on Chester County’s Partnership to End Homelessness, and how to participate in ending homelessness in Chester County, go to endhomelessnesschesco.org.