Homelessness has increased regionally and around the country. However, multiple resources are helping as government-based programs and charitable organizations combat the housing crisis. Going forward, new options are constantly conceived and funded to foster solutions. With continuing community involvement and individual dedication, these programs aim to diminish future homeless threats. These efforts are designed to also restore displaced individuals and families to independent living.
One common strategy is a proactive approach. Advocates in Pennsylvania and Maryland agree that programs that assist people before they become homeless are key ingredients to prevent this crisis from growing further.
Jeannie Asbury is the executive director of “Reach,” a Hagerstown faith-based facility that follows this pre-emptive tactic and shelters homeless individuals. Asbury quotes a well-known idiom for her organization’s philosophy: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Asbury mentioned that the Hagerstown community often sees individuals on the brink of homelessness, after suffering food insecurity, having utilities shut off, or facing eviction or foreclosure. These unfortunate people need existing resources to assist them quickly and effectively, Asbury said. With local partners’ help, Reach helps keep disadvantaged and low-income people from losing their homes.
Maryland typically receives good grades for its progressive social programs and is usually ranked in the top third of states in managing per capita homeless rates. Several initiatives and resources within Maryland are making an impact to ease the housing crisis.
The Department of Housing and Community Development is one Maryland agency that sponsors vital assistance. Their Homelessness Solutions Program offers technical support and funding to Continuums of Care and local homeless coalitions. HSP has an online list of streamlined services that include eligible projects (street outreach, rapid rehousing), applications and many publications that help homeless people find assistance.
In Pennsylvania, counties and state government partner with the federal government and local charities and advocates, but the state currently shows less effectiveness than in Maryland. The Pennsylvania homeless statistics typically put them in the middle of ranked states for curbing the problem.
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services administers “HAP,” the Homeless Assistance Program, which includes rental assistance programs and bridge housing options. This needed program faces the challenges of funding restraints and Pennsylvania’s shortage of affordable housing, where supply has not kept up with demand.
Chambersburg is the largest community in Franklin County, and many existing county resources are based there. The Franklin County Human Services Access Center offers a variety of programs to help. Those in need can call 717-261-3893 or 211 for assistance. Franklin County Commissioner Bob Ziobrowski said, “Our goal is providing services to help the residents of Franklin County by meeting them where they are to overcome homelessness permanently.”
Close attention to a community’s mental health is another key strategy. Experts estimate one in five homeless individuals are dealing with a mental health issue. In Waynesboro, the Borough hired Kay Martin as it community liaison. While fulfilling this full-time position, Martin answers many weekly calls, using 20 years of case management skills and a degree in psychology. She typically accompanies law enforcement to diffuse sometimes tense situations and then helps direct affected people to the proper resources.
Martin gives Borough leadership high marks for tackling this mental health component head-on.“I think Waynesboro has been proactive,” Martin said, describing the necessity for professionals like her. She noted Waynesboro has more than its share of calls relating to mental health but also added, “A lot of times there are more factors involved,” saying that domestic violence, other family challenges and rising living costs are lingering problems that routinely provoke homelessness. “Lack of affordable housing is a huge problem,” Martin said.
Since many of Waynesboro’s low-income residents don’t own a vehicle, they often have fewer options to find help outside their community. Like many small towns, Waynesboro doesn’t have a public transportation system. Lack of transport limits job opportunities and mobility for low-income residents.
Many new strategies for dealing with homelessness are rooted in advanced technologies. Across the world, organizations and entrepreneurs are developing intelligent products and services seeking to ease the stress of homelessness.
A Detroit-based non-profit called the Empowerment Plan has designed an innovative jacket that doubles as a sleeping bag and over-the-shoulder bag for people experiencing homelessness. An Amsterdam company invented another jacket, the “Helping Heart,” which allows contactless wireless payments, received by homeless recipients through an accredited shelter, not in cash.
Other resources recently touted are mobile vehicles that provide showers and sanitation (and dignity) to people in need and an algorithm developed by a team of social workers and scientists that helps prevent the spread of disease among the homeless. While these gadgets and resources are innovative and well-meaning, they offer temporary fixes.
As new solutions materialize, others can fade away. Until recently, some area hotels accepted vouchers to shelter homeless individuals temporarily in their guest rooms, but that practice has diminished. In addition, many government housing assistance programs created to help people during the pandemic have ended.
When the Trump administration assumed office on Jan. 20, 2025, it announced a temporary freeze on federal funding for domestic and foreign aid. This policy development worried many homeless and charitable activists. A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. April McClain-Delaney, a Democrat representing Western Maryland’s 6th District, said they were overwhelmed with concerned constituent inquiries about that proposed funding freeze.
With only one cold-weather shelter each in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and Washington County, Maryland, many activists wonder why more public buildings, such as churches and fire halls, don’t volunteer their spaces for winter usage. A majority of these buildings are used only on specific days of the week or during emergencies.
Many of these structures have large gathering spaces and amenities that easily could be drafted into service during cold weather events. Leading by example, the Mont Alto Volunteer Fire Company recently sheltered people when frigid temperatures struck in January.
Another problematic issue is the trend toward rental properties owned or managed by large companies, not individual landlords. Sometimes, these corporate rental firms have fewer community ties and offer little or no leniency with their property applications, which have become expensive to submit. Homeless advocates wish that credit ratings and other strict rental qualifications could, in some cases, be relaxed by these commercial landlords to open up more potential home spaces and to give people a second chance.
What more can be accomplished by local, state and federal governments to tackle the homeless crisis? Several national organizations offer multiple suggestions. The organization called End Homelessness mentions five possible solutions. The first is to establish or expand rental subsidies for low-income families. Next, they propose increased benefits for people with disabilities, seniors, caregivers and low-paid workers. Their final suggestions seek rent stabilization by controlling rising rent prices, increasing local and state minimum wages and “improving pathways to jobs paying a living wage.”
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, they build a solid foundation for solutions to the housing crisis on three pillars. Pillar 1 is to leverage evidence and measure outcomes. To achieve better long-term results, they say local governments should ask the following questions. Are we reducing the total number of homeless individuals and families? Are we reducing the length of time someone experiences a housing loss? Are we reducing returns to homeless situations?
Pillar 2 calls for building a coordinated coalition. This second initiative involves harmonized strategies that protect child welfare, improve health and human services and increase educational resources, among other goals. Pillar 3 is to invest wisely. What programs are best for each community? Are they sustainable? Will the community support these financial commitments?
Another important policy recommendation centers around land use and zoning. According to advocates for the homeless, local governments should reconsider land use to make it more available to lower-cost developers. This practice could reduce barriers to creating faster solutions for affordable housing. Governments could also provide tenant protections and be wiser and more aggressive advocates for homeless citizens when applying for state and federal programs.
What should governments refrain from doing that degrade conditions for the homeless population? Support groups stress that an individual’s housing crisis should not be considered a criminal offense, nor should local officials enact restrictive zoning laws making it more difficult to build new and affordable housing stock.
All combined, these various policies and strategies offer potential solutions, but each community must take the necessary time to evaluate its unique needs and put the right programs into action. In some situations, this process begins by reducing the unfair stigmas that stain homeless individuals and families.
Incidences of a housing crisis are often caused by multiple unforeseen or uncontrollable circumstances. Advocates remind people who feel secure about their current housing situation that homelessness isn’t limited to the downtrodden or impoverished. This problem isn’t a strictly urban problem either. Many rural or small-town residents are only one calamity away from being homeless.
A Waynesboro man who recently escaped homelessness after living an independent and financially secure adult life, said, “I never thought this could happen to me. People need to realize it could happen to them too.” It’s also important to note that homelessness is not only a lack of shelter but a devastating loss of stability, dignity and security.
Acknowledging these sobering realities may create new advocates who will donate money and volunteer time to help existing resources and possibly create new ones. Two upcoming events are entry portals for anyone who wants to engage and make a difference in the local area.
On Feb. 21, from 8-10 a.m., Waynesboro Community and Human Services, partnering with the Waynesboro Chamber of Commerce, will sponsor an open house and breakfast to celebrate its new space at 116 Walnut St. Readers may call 717-762-6941 for more information.
In Hagerstown, Reach holds its annual “Coldest Night of the Year” event on Feb. 22, at Hagerstown Community College. During this family-friendly occasion, people can complete a winter walk to raise money and show support for the homeless population. Readers may call 301-733-2371 or visit the group’s website (reachofwc.org) to participate or offer sponsorship.
Many other homeless resources are constantly looking for help from individuals. From shelters to soup kitchens, there is never a shortage of needs for monetary donations, vital daily supplies and the precious gift of time given by volunteers.
These resources also remind everyone that governmental programs are key tools, but local communities and residents often create greater impacts by helping disadvantaged citizens when they desperately need help and compassion.
Reach’s Jeannie Asbury said it succinctly about the need for individual activism to fight homelessness: “Everybody can do something.”
