Addressing homelessness cost other human services $10 million in state funds
Quarterly occupancy levels reported by organizations contracted to provide Bridge Housing by Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services (DHS) show that approximately 50 vacancies existed in these programs at any given time over a one-year period, which if filled could have reduced the number of individuals in emergency shelters or on the streets.
Bridge Housing is a transitional service that allows clients who are in temporary housing to move to supportive long-term living arrangements while preparing to live independently. Clients receive case management and supportive services and must have a service plan that describes how the program will assist clients for up to 18 months with the goal of returning to the most independent life situation possible.
None of the six Bridge Housing programs contracted by the County reported being filled to capacity during any of the four quarters spanning July 2022 through June 2023. There were 447 individuals on the waiting lists for these programs as of the end of this period.
Meanwhile, several Emergency Shelter programs contracted by the County were at or near capacity for the entirety of the period. One shelter operator reported being above 100 percent capacity each quarter and another in two quarters. Three other shelters reported being over 100 percent capacity in one quarter.
DHS reported that contracted emergency shelters served over 6,000 individuals during the one-year period examined. On average, an individual spent 47 days in an Emergency Shelter program, and 41 percent of individuals stayed more than 30 days, the DHS goal for moving individuals to longer-term housing.
A Point-in-Time count conducted by DHS on January 30, 2024 showed an unhoused population of 1,164 people, an increase of 31 percent over 2020.
“While the impact of fully utilizing existing Bridge Housing would be relatively small numerically, it is a comprehensive program to get vulnerable individuals out of unstable housing and on the path to living independently. To leave any number of individuals out of having this option due to underutilization of our resources is unconscionable,” O’Connor said.
Auditors were told by DHS management that Bridge Housing vacancies are filled when a provider notifies DHS of availability and requests a referral. DHS stated that sometimes rooms require time to clean and repair after turnover, and sometimes staffing vacancies need to be filled which causes a provider not to request a referral.
Auditors recommended that DHS monitor occupancy levels to identify which providers are operating efficiently and work with providers to improve processes so occupancy levels can be increased.
Bridge Housing and Emergency Shelter programs are both supported by DHS’s Homeless Assistance Program (HAP). The programs may also receive support from other government funding streams and private funding.
“HAP is just one of several funding streams supporting the County’s efforts to alleviate homelessness, but it funds some of the most vital programs associated with moving people off the streets and into more stable housing. Every dollar counts when we are seeking to remove vulnerable individuals from dangerous situations, and we must utilize these resources to the fullest,” O’Connor said.
For the July 2022 through June 2023 time period, $1.7 million was paid from HAP for Bridge Housing and $4.6 million for Emergency Shelter programs. HAP also supports Case Management used to coordinate the activities of the client to obtain or retain housing and to achieve self-sufficiency; Rental Assistance to clients facing eviction from their apartment or home; and Innovative Supportive Housing Services that enables the service provider to design a supportive housing service for people that is outside the scope of existing HAP components.
Pennsylvania awarded DHS approximately $2.6 million in Human Services Block Grant (HSBG) funding for HAP in the fiscal year concurrent with the audit period. However, this funding has been inadequate to meet needs in Allegheny County. State funding for HAP had not increased for at least 10 years until the 2024-25 fiscal year, and then increased by only $5 million statewide to be shared by all participating counties.
State law allows DHS to reallocate HSBG funding from other program areas if it needed, and an additional $10 million was transferred to HAP from other programs, bringing the total to $12.6 million. This was over 10 percent of the County’s total HSBG allocation.
“The need to respond to a growing homelessness emergency appears to be impacting the resources we are able to allocate to other necessary human services programs. I’ll be advocating with our legislators to devote more funding to meeting this critical need in future budgets,” O’Connor said.
“Ultimately, reducing homelessness will require more housing, especially deeply affordable housing. I am pleased that the County administration is making a priority of identifying and developing affordable housing that can be available to those transitioning out of homelessness. But the resources we devote to the unhoused population currently must be used as effectively as possible, particularly for comprehensive programming like Bridge Housing that truly reduces homelessness.”
View the complete Performance Audit Report.