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Funding to assist homeless, infirm
Dauphin County, city get $1,502,363
Sunday, March 13, 2005
BY DIANA FISHLOCK
Of The Patriot-News
New federal aid to Harrisburg and Dauphin County will allow three
local agencies to better address the needs of people who are mentally
ill and/or chronically homeless.
The $1,502,363 will include money to build a facility to house chronically
homeless people who have mental illness, which will address a long-standing
need in the community, city officials said Friday. The money comes
from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Susquehanna Harbor Safe Haven will receive $933,843 to build a facility.
It will house 25 chronically homeless men who suffer from severe
mental illness and expand to 40 beds during the winter, according
to city officials.
The YWCA of Greater Harrisburg was awarded $338,701 for ongoing
shelter services for women with severe mental illness. And the money
will pay for mental health care during the transition into permanent
housing, city officials said. The aid provides for services for
up to 19 families for three years.
Shalom House AfterCare Rental Assistance Program will receive $229,819
for transitional housing for chronically homeless women, allowing
them to get permanent housing and become home owners, officials
said. The aid will help approximately 20 clients at a time over
three years.
"I am extremely pleased we are getting this money because we
see ladies coming into the shelter who need services beyond 30 days,"
said Jackie Morrison, executive director of Shalom House. "This
funding allows us to provide services for up to two years."
With the additional time, Shalom House can help women stabilize
their lives, resolving financial and social problems, Morrison said.
"Once we get done with them the rental subsidy is done; they're
living on their own," Morrison said. "It's the extra time
that allows them to live on their own. Without that, a lot of them
just cycle right back through again."
The closing of Harrisburg State Hospital by the end of the year
will mean more women in shelters or on the street while they wait
for services, Morrison said.
"The focus is on permanent solutions to homelessness and reintegration
of the individual into a position of self-sufficiency and stability,"
Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed said in a statement. "It is
not enough to merely provide temporary homeless shelter space, as
that alone does not solve the underlying issues of homelessness."
"The funding that has been secured is a result of creative,
visionary planning by the participants," county Commissioner
George Hartwick III said in a released statement. "It will
make a difference in the quality of life in the community."
The city and county are establishing a steering committee that will
create a 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness.
DIANA FISHLOCK: 255-8251 or dfishlock@patriot-news.com
Copyright 2005 PennLive.com.
All Rights Reserved.
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