Pennsylvania Western Region Continuum of Care Receives Reentry Award

In honor of Second Chance Month, the DOC Bureau of Reentry declared the Pennsylvania Western Region Continuum of Care as the recipient of the 2023 Reentry Award.

The organization has been a supporter of reentry-related issues for years, and it welcomed and supported the idea of establishing a Reentry Sub Committee within its board. It has assisted and supported reentrants in applying for the Home for Good Grant that benefited the placement of approximately 60 people who would have otherwise been homeless upon their release from prison.  In addition, it assists in the funding of supportive services for those that are already placed.

The Pennsylvania Western Region Continuum of Care aims to end homelessness through a coordinated community-based process of identifying needs and building an open and integrated system of housing and services that addresses those needs. Per HUD Regulation 24 CFR Part 578, and to fulfill the stated mission, the purpose of the CoC is to:

• Promote a community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness
• Promote access to funding for efforts for rapid re-housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness
• Promote access to and effective use of mainstream programs
• Optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness

The Western PA CoC is comprised of 20 counties organized geographically into two Regional Homelessness Advisory Boards (RHABs):

• Northwest RHAB: Crawford, Warren, McKean, Potter, Mercer, Venango, Forest, Elk, Cameron, Lawrence, Clarion, Jefferson, and Clearfield counties
• Southwest RHAB: Butler, Armstrong, Indiana, Washington, Westmoreland, Greene and Fayette counties

Each RHAB is responsible for operationalizing the policies adopted by the CoC by working with their community to address and end homelessness locally along with providing supportive services that help maintain one’s placement.