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| Homeless Prevention Programs in Chester County |
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The Chester County Department of Community Development  (DCD) is seeking proposals for homeless assistance and homeless prevention activities to be carried out during the upcoming fiscal year.
Funding to be awarded for Chester County providers will be allocated from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare's Homeless Assistance Program (HAP).
The Request For Proposals and required Budget Forms are available online, or by contacting DCD at (610) 344-6900 or ccdcd@chesco.org.
Applications are due by 4 PM on March 5, 2010.
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HAP Application Workshop
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DCD's Community Services Team will hold an Application Workshop for providers on:
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 9 AM in the Government Services Center - 601 Westtown Road, Room 250, West Chester, PA 19380.
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| The Point-in-Time Count: Documenting Chester County's Unsheltered Homeless Population |
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On Wednesday, January 27, 2010, DCD staff, non-profit organizations, and trained volunteers will participate in a one-night survey to count the number of persons who are experiencing homelessness in Chester County.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Point-in-Time-Count is a national event to count the number of homeless individuals and families in the U.S. on a specific night.
An accurate count of homeless persons in Chester County is necessary in order to:
- Establish a baseline of our homeless population, so that we can track progress toward reducing homelessness locally;
- Improve the ability of government and service providers to plan and implement effective services;
- Increase public awareness of homelessness throughout Chester County, and;
- Provide data in federal funding applications for supportive services and the creation of permanent housing.
As part of the unsheltered count, teams canvass the streets of Chester County and physically count the number of unsheltered homeless families and individuals. Each team will consist of a staff member from a homeless service agency and trained community volunteers. The teams will be divided up into geographic areas to cover the county.
From last year's count, HUD was able to determine that on a given night 664,414 people are homeless in the U.S. Of this number, 62% are individuals and 38% are families.
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| How You Can Help |
| If your business, organization, police department, fire department, agency, or community of faith encounters someone on Wednesday, January 27th who is homeless (living on the street, in a car, or a place not meant for human habitation), please complete this survey.
If you encounter someone who is homeless and may need assistance on the night of January 27th, please call (610) 344-6900.
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 Chester County Board of Commissioners:
Carol Aichele, Chair
Terence Farrell
Kathi Cozzone
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