By Cliff Lewis
At last week’s City Council Meeting, Mayor Rick Gray listed the City’s planned uses of Federal stimulus money. But one item on the roster was a bit ambiguous: The City and County were said to collectively receive a total of $2 million in “homeless prevention funds,” which would be used “for services to prevent homelessness.”
To clarify the use of these funds, NewsLanc spoke with Matthew Sternberg, Executive Director of the Lancaster County Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Sternberg explained that “homeless prevention” essentially equals rental assistance for those who have hit hard times. The program may also help with moving expenses, if needed.
The programs will be targeted to serve people who fall below “median income”—less than $32,100 for a family of four or less than $22,450 for a single person. Also, this program will not apply to homeowners, since programs already exist to provide mortgage assistance.
According to Kay Mosher-McDivitt, the Community Homeless Advisor for Lancaster County, one of the biggest challenges for the program will be letting people know that help is available. It is expected that, due to current economic conditions, there will be many in need of assistance that have never needed it before. For the sake of these individuals, the application process will be kept as simple as possible.
The Lancaster County Housing and Redevelopment Authority will submit its plan for “homeless prevention” to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by May 16. If HUD approves the plan in a timely manner, Sternberg expects that the money will be available to Lancaster residents by September.
