Carbon County agencies report rising encampments and funding uncertainty for homelessness services

At a Friday meeting of Carbon County service providers and local officials, participants described persistent homeless encampments along rivers and trailheads, growing demand for shelter and case management, and uncertainty about federal funding that could affect local programs.

The discussion centered on safety and public-health concerns at local encampments, limits on outreach capacity, and near-term anxiety among nonprofit providers about whether state and federal funds will be available after recent changes to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) notice of funding opportunity (NOFO). Mary Penny, a staff member with the Eastern Pennsylvania Continuum of Care (COC), said HUD had “sent us a very cryptic announcement 2 weeks ago” withdrawing details of a previously expected two-year NOFO and that local providers are awaiting clarification about whether programs will be funded.

Chief Abelovsky, providing a policing perspective on encampments, said officers are responding to calls as they come and that staffing limits constrain sustained outreach. “We handle call volume as it comes in,” he said, adding that the county is coordinating with other agencies “to try to eliminate some of the structures and some of the things that are going on out there.” He…