January 2026 | Message from our Executive Director
| When Hope Meets Hard Truths: Recommitting to Our Neighbors I originally drafted a cheerful, hopeful post about how much I love the new year – which I do – and to highlight our state-level priorities for 2026. But after months of ongoing fear and harm, culminating in this past weekend, that tone no longer feels authentic. I do love the new year. And if I haven’t seen you yet, I will probably still wish you a happy new year – even if it’s March. I’m also genuinely looking forward to the many initiatives the Housing Alliance will be advancing this year, in partnership with you. But the truth is this: we cannot talk about housing affordability in isolation while the broader safety net is unraveling and our neighbors are being terrorized. My daughter’s karate school organized a Martin Luther King Jr. Day service project to assemble supply bags for people in our county who are unhoused. I was struck by this – not because the need isn’t obvious, but because people so often overlook those living outside, defaulting to stereotypes instead of lived reality. To me, our current crisis in this country is rooted in othering – the habit of distancing ourselves from people who don’t look like us, sound like us, worship like us, or live like us. Too many have been led to believe that people who are different want to take what we have, and that there is not enough help to go around. Last summer, the Housing Alliance launched an initiative to proactively address encampments – places where people are sleeping outside, on streets, under bridges, and in tents – by centering help for the people who are there. What has surfaced again and again are deeply ingrained assumptions about “choice.” While I can calmly respond to these stereotypes, I’ll be honest: they surprise me. Why would someone choose to live outside, in unsafe conditions where violence and extreme weather are constant threats? And even if someone says this is their choice—because of trauma, mental health challenges, or pride—why would we ever choose to do nothing? People are suffering. What difference does it make how they got there? I rarely assume intent behind action – or in this case, inaction. I tend to believe the best of people, because believing the worst has never helped anyone move forward. When it comes to unsheltered homelessness and encampments, I don’t think bad intention is the problem. I think it’s lack of information, uncertainty, limited resources, and the false comfort of saying a problem can’t be fixed rather than taking the risk to try. So I am going back to my default: defining what we plan to do and asking for your input and help to move forward together. Those working directly with people living outside have stories that challenge these misconceptions every day. The Housing Alliance has many already and we invite you to listen, to share, and to help change the narrative. Because if we don’t tell these stories ourselves, the stereotypes will continue to fill the silence. We are asking you to add your organization to a letter supporting a $20 million investment to implement a humane, effective strategy to address unsheltered homelessness and encampments across Pennsylvania. Join our meeting to hear more about our policy initiative to secure this investment on Feb 12, 2026, 2:00 – 3:00 pm. In solidarity, Phyllis Chamberlain Executive Director |