How to address homelessness in Pennsylvania

We are at a pivotal moment in the fight against homelessness. The housing crisis is not going away; in fact, research shows that it will continue to grow at record rates. Our local, state, and federal governments must prioritize funding for evidence-based programs. The same “fixes” that worked before the COVID-19 pandemic will not work any longer.

Homelessness is not what you think. The majority of homeless people are not mentally ill, “lazy” and don’t want to work, abusing alcohol and drugs, or dangerous and violent. According to the Office of Homeless Services for the city of Philadelphia, 70% of Philadelphia’s unhoused population is homeless for the very first time.

What does first-time homelessness look like? Homelessness is the single mother and her young child who were forced to live in their car after the landlord didn’t keep up with the building repairs and it was condemned. Now she has nowhere to live and is at risk of her child being taken from her.

Homelessness is the elderly man who lost his partner and now must try and make rent with only one Social Security check. When his landlord raises rent, he cannot afford it and has nowhere else to go but an emergency shelter, leaving behind everything he knows.

Homelessness is parents working multiple jobs to keep their kids fed and housed, but rising rent costs force them to leave their apartment and double or triple up with other families in the same situation.

These are just a few of the many stories of real people in Berks County who are struggling to find housing and have received support through the Berks Coalition to End Homelessness, where I work. Working people are being forced to live in their cars because they cannot afford rent. Wages have not increased in the same manner as housing costs.

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, home prices rose 74% from 2010 to 2022. The average wage rose only 54% during the same time, and people cannot afford to keep their housing. A similar trend holds for renting in Pennsylvania. In 2020, Pennsylvanians paid an average of $684 per month for a one-bedroom apartment. In 2023, that same apartment costs $917 on average per month.

When I think of homelessness in Pennsylvania, I think of Leon Sconion, a military veteran in Reading with six children between the ages of 2 and 17. After finishing his time in the military, Sconion found work doing asbestos removal and abatement. He ended up not being able to continue this work because of a physical disability and was evicted from his housing in 2007.

Because of the affordable housing crisis, Sconion and his children have continued to struggle with maintaining a stable place to live. In 2023, a three-bedroom apartment in Reading costs an average of $1,552. He and his family have bounced from emergency shelters to friends’ couches for years.

People often believe homelessness is only a problem in the cities. Yet people experience homelessness in rural areas, as well. If you look at the data for your own local school district, you may be surprised to see how many children are experiencing homelessness in your community.

Over 4,500 children in the Philadelphia School District experienced homelessness during the 2021-22 school year. In the Exeter Township School District (Berks County), that number is 93. In the Rose Tree Media School District (Delaware County), 52 children experienced homelessness. And in the Phoenixville Area School District (Chester County), the number is 72.

These figures are unacceptable.

I urge you to contact your local, state, and federal officials and demand that they take action to address the housing crisis. Our leaders must know that homelessness is a priority.

Here are three ways local and state governments can address the affordable housing crisis:

The funding exists to make homelessness in our communities rare, brief, and nonrecurring, but this issue must be prioritized. Contact your local city council and county government, state representatives, and senators to demand action. Homelessness is a complex problem, but it is one we can solve if we work together.

Elise McCauley is the assistant director of the Berks Coalition to End Homelessness. Before joining the coalition, she worked as a case manager in an emergency shelter, where she became interested in the systemic factors that impact access to affordable housing. She is a graduate of Reading Area Community College and Kutztown University and holds a degree in social work.