August 2024 | Message from Our Executive Director
| Are you ready for September? Don’t blink because we have a whole lot of new for you once the calendar turns from August to September. Wondering how you can impact the election this year? There’s certainly plenty of ways for us here in Pennsylvania as a swing state to have an outsized impact on the election results. It isn’t too late to join our Our Homes, Our Votes Pennsylvania initiative. We are providing support to local organizations that plan to engage the people they serve in registration and other educational opportunities. And it’s all legal and nonpartisan. Nonprofits and housing authorities can absolutely participate (along with others.) Let us know that you want more information and / or contact Jen Thomas. Are you a landlord that wonders why so many of your tenants are behind in paying their rent? Are you a tenant that is struggling with paying your rent or an assistance organization trying to help? Did you know that we are advocating for a state investment in homelessness prevention via eviction prevention? Sign on in support here. Homeless Prevention Funding Proposal – Statement of Need Homeless Prevention – Proposed Program Structure To keep apprised of updates, visit our website. Are you aware of the changes that HUD is planning for the annual homeless funding / Continuum of Care competition? We are hearing that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will be taking a closer look at community wide system performance measures including how long it takes for households to exit homelessness into their own housing situation. This strategy can help your Continuum of Care compete. Check out our recently released Toolkit documenting how three communities vastly decreased the amount of time that it takes to find housing that is affordable and available. And here is the link to our Landlord Engagement Resource Library. Is our Annual Homes Within Reach conference on your calendar for December 4-6, 2024, once again in Hershey, PA? With 957 participants at last year’s annual Homes Within Reach conference, we are hoping to see at least 1,000 of you at this year’s 20th event – December 4-6 in Hershey, PA. Why Should I Sponsor? Because our Homes Within Reach Conference is one of the largest in the Eastern United States. With more than 900 people in attendance, 50 workshops, 70 exhibitors, and 147 sponsors last year, we’re excited for 2024! To register as a sponsor visit our event site. As usual, we will have something for everyone. I am looking forward to creating more impact this fall and connecting with our valuable partners across the state. In partnership,  Phyllis ChamberlainExecutive Director |