Carbon County task force weighs shelter options as Family Promise plans cold‑weather site

Family Promise, a local nonprofit, told the Carbon County homeless task force it plans to open a cold‑weather shelter Nov. 1 at its adjacent Jury Family Centre that will serve about 12 people on days when temperatures fall below 32 degrees. The shelter will offer laundry, showers, meals and case management, Family Promise representative Grace said.

The announcement came as task force members described growing pressure from recent encampment clearings, limited shelter capacity across the county and zoning obstacles that may prevent a Lehighton cold‑weather program from operating this winter. Task force participants and regional housing partners urged a mix of short‑term measures and longer‑term strategies including landlord engagement, targeted grants and supportive housing.

“...we're going to be opening a cold weather shelter. I'm thinking we can help at least, 12 individuals at this point,” Grace said, adding the site will open when the temperature is below 32 degrees and will remain available through the winter when conditions meet that threshold.

Mary Penny, a representative of the Eastern Pennsylvania Continuum of Care, told the task force the regional body applies annually for HUD funding across 33 counties and can help with technical assistance and connections to grants. She highlighted recent and ongoing funding streams the group administers, including a landlord incentive fund and programs administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA).

“We represent 33 counties in Eastern Pennsylvania, and we apply every year for the HUD funding that applies for different programs to solve homelessness,” Mary Penny said. She urged local organizers to join the Continuum of Care mailing list and said PHFA and other grant opportunities could be used for emergency housing and landlord incentives.

Task force speakers described a mix of immediate needs and structural barriers. Family Promise said its regular shelter currently houses 28 people, including eight families, and that the organization is carrying a wait list of about 123 households. An Action Committee representative reported 62 calls for help since mid‑July, 14 of them people who were street homeless, 27 enrollments and active case management for 47 households.

Lehighton officials and volunteers said a previously volunteer‑run cold‑weather program that sheltered dozens last winter may not operate this year because of zoning restrictions. One task force participant said the Lehighton program served roughly 57 people last winter and warned that without a Lehighton site “there's nowhere for those people to go this year.”

Several participants urged immediate, practical steps: pursue PHFA and other grants, expand landlord engagement and consider small, flexible funding to solve single obstacles that block housing placements. The Continuum of Care representative described a pilot called housing problem solving that pays for small repairs, bus tickets or old utility debts to prevent homelessness, and suggested Carbon County pursue similar funds.

A roundtable of providers and volunteers also emphasized outreach and trauma‑informed approaches as essential to engaging people who have repeatedly declined assistance. Task force members described street outreach as a long‑term, relationship‑driven effort that may require dozens of contacts before a person accepts services.

Participants discussed a housing strategy that would tie rehab dollars to temporary rent limits to incent landlords to bring units back into long‑term rental markets. Members also raised the prospect that future federal funding notices may require memoranda of understanding with local police departments to coordinate outreach and data sharing.

The task force approved the minutes from its previous meeting by voice vote before adjourning; no opposition was recorded. Members agreed to hold the next task force meeting on the fourth Friday in October via Zoom and to continue outreach to regional partners and state agencies for technical assistance and funding.

The meeting closed with multiple offers of partnership and follow‑up: Family Promise said it would accept local coordination and material support for its cold‑weather shelter; the Continuum of Care offered to help recruit people with lived homelessness experience to participate on local committees; and task force leaders said a county official will attend an Oct. 9 regional meeting in Allentown and report back on strategies other communities are using.

Votes at a glance: the minutes from the previous meeting were moved, seconded and approved by voice vote with no recorded opposition.