Housing and homeless advocates, including people who have been homeless, testified at an April hearing of the Pennsylvania State House Democratic Policy Committee, urging legislators to fund programs that have proven solutions to end homelessness. Hosted by State Representative Vanessa Lowry Brown (D) and organized by the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, an NLIHC State Coalition Partner, the hearing focused on the causes and magnitude of homelessness in Pennsylvania, best practices to address the issue and policies that support effective and fiscally responsible programs. Elizabeth Hersh, the Housing Alliance’s executive director, testified that the nation has experienced decreases in chronic and veteran homelessness—6.8% and 7.2% respectively, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness’ 2013 State of Homelessness in America report—but that Pennsylvania has not experienced the same. She testified that states that have significantly invested in homeless prevention programs have experienced a drop in the number of homeless people. The Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing (HPRP) and Permanent Supportive Housing programs were specifically cited for their effectiveness in communities across the country. Nationally, HPRP has been 90% effective in housing the homeless—approximately 90% of those stay housed after the rent subsidy expires—and it is cost effective at approximately $1,000 per person served. Permanent Supportive Housing costs $25 per person daily, compared with such emergency and crisis services as inpatient hospital stays at $1,300 per day for each person served. Ms. Hersh urged the Committee to address the crisis by establishing a bi-partisan, bicameral commission whose mandate would be to research the causes, nature and extent of homelessness; issue a report card on how the state’s crisis compares with neighboring states; and recommend state-led strategies to reduce homelessness. Advocates also urged legislators to advocate for $25 million to fund the state’s Homeless Assistance Program, approximately the amount it received each year until 2009. Currently funded at $19.5 million, the program faces an additional $1 million reduction in Governor Tom Corbett’s proposed budget. The Committee was asked to secure a dedicated source of funding for the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund (PHARE), the state’s housing trust fund established in 2010. In 2012, PHARE received funds from the Marcellus Shale Impact Fee, which provided money to counties with shale drilling; many of them have experienced decreased availability and affordability of housing due to the influx of out-of-state workers who drill wells. Advocates call for dedicated funds that address statewide homelessness and housing issues, not just areas impacted by the natural gas employment boom. A panel discussed how reduced funding for state homelessness and safety net programs has impacted faith-based service providers and those in need of services. It included people who have experienced the reduction firsthand, including Pat Boyer, who became physically disabled and could not work due to job related injuries. She testified about becoming homeless after her husband died; she lived on the streets and dealt with health concerns as she waited for a spot to open at a local shelter. Ms. Boyer eventually received a supportive housing unit through the Section 8 Single Room Occupancy Program and used the state’s General Assistance program to pay her rent. However, the latter program—which provided $205 monthly to 68,000 residents for housing, transportation and personal expenses—was eliminated from the state budget in 2012, leaving Ms. Boyer and others with no income to pay for housing. Expected to support those who received this assistance, faith leaders and service providers shared how their organizations are struggling financially and are unable help the increased number of people in need. “We are grateful to Representative Brown for shining a light on the problem of homelessness across the commonwealth,” said Cindy Daley, the Housing Alliance’s policy director. “We look forward to working with her to establish a Homelessness and Housing Caucus in the General Assembly and to commission a report that will help guide the legislature in ways to solve this problem.”For more information: Cindy Daley, [email protected]