Carbon OKs funds for homeless families

Carbon County wants to continue helping families facing homelessness.

On Thursday, the commissioners held a brief public hearing regarding its application for the 2018 Emergency Solutions Grant through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said that the Emergency Solutions Grant program “allows local governments to apply for funding on behalf of nonprofit organizations which perform services such as rapid rehousing, homeless prevention, operations and essential services related to emergency shelters.”

The grant application would be for $90,000 — $45,000 for the Carbon County Action Committee for Human Services and $45,000 for Family Promise of Carbon County. The grant also requires a dollar for dollar match from these two entities.

Following the hearing, which had no residents in attendance who spoke, the commissioners voted 2-0 to approve submitting the application. Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein was absent.

The Rapid Rehousing program targets four groups: homeless families with children who are residing in the Family Promise shelters and either qualify for public or section 8 housing via a “homeless priority” or now have or will soon have adequate income/resources to afford future rent and household expenses; homeless families fleeing from domestic violence; homeless disabled veterans or other homeless disabled people and families; and other homeless people or families referred by the Carbon County Housing Authority as anticipated to qualify for public housing or section 8 housing in the near future.

The Homeless Prevention assistance, which would be in the form of security deposits, utility deposits and payments, rental arrears, targets families with children; eligible disabled veterans or other disabled people or families; families fleeing domestic violence; and disabled or nondisabled people or families qualifying for public housing or section 8 assistance.

Affordability requirements must be met for both programs.