Keystone Mission urges Scranton leaders to back 'transformation center' to move people from streets into housing

Justin Behrens, chief executive director of Keystone Mission, addressed the Scranton City Council during the meeting's public-comment period to outline a multi-stage approach the nonprofit uses to move people from homelessness into stable housing.

Behrens said Keystone Mission seeks a local transformation center that would follow a three-tier funnel—an overnight shelter, a transformation program with case management and work development, then independent housing—and asked the city and other local partners to help identify a site and funding.

The model matters because, Behrens said, it focuses on longer-term stability rather than short-term relief. “We meet immediate needs, offering food, shelter, and safety. But our greater purpose is to walk with [people] all the way from homelessness to stability,” he said.

Keystone Mission runs a transformation center in Wilkes-Barre that Behrens said took about six months to stand up after the city provided funding. He attributed the center’s reported outcomes to sustained program participation: “Across this nation, the average rate is 13 percent in success. And we're at 58.” He also described a local funnel that includes a 365-night shelter that…