Report: Homelessness assistance lacking in Pennsylvania

(The Center Square) – A new report ranks Pennsylvania near the bottom of all 50 states for its programs aiding the homeless.

In an analysis from QuoteWizard by LendingTree, Pennsylvania has the 7th worst social supports in place for its homeless population.

The report’s methodology measures each state’s rate of change between 2018 and 2019 in availability of emergency shelters, other permanent housing, permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, safe haven programs, transitional housing and the total number of rental assistance programs.

In 2019, more than 568,000 Americans were experiencing homelessness, an increase of 3 percent over 2018. Experts expect another uptick in the statistic as the pandemic forced millions into unemployment in 2020. In Pennsylvania, a record 2.3 million residents have applied for jobless benefits since March.

Pennsylvania renters likewise owed $224 million ahead of the Dec. 31, 2020 expiration of the moratorium on evictions, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Although the latest coronavirus relief bill extended that moratorium, an estimated 24 million individuals lost their jobs between March and August, leaving landlords on the hook for 7.2 billion nationwide.

A report from the Mortgage Bankers Association determined property owners lost $9.2 billion in the third quarter alone from missed, delayed or reduced rental payments. Some 6 million renters missed their September payment entirely, according to the report.

Despite the relative lack of programs, homelessness in Pennsylvania decreased 2.3 percent in 2019. Colorado, ranked number one, experienced a 12.4 percent decline while Oklahoma, ranked last, saw a 1.5 percent increase. But for some states in the bottom 10 – Wisconsin, Utah, Montana, Rhode Island, Delaware and Louisiana – homelessness declined, by double digits in some cases, despite a lack of resources or aid.

Federal data shows nearly 13,200 residents across the state experience homelessness on any given day – including 1,569 families, 857 veterans, 737 unaccompanied young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, and 1,863 individuals experiencing chronic homelessness.

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