HARRISBURG, Pa. — The city of Harrisburg, along with Dauphin County and the Governor’s office are working together to tackle homelessness in the city.
“I know we have been trying to press toward a plan and as of [Thursday], the last two meetings that we’ve had as a result of getting to the planning stage have been very productive," said Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick.
The plan Commissioner Hartwick is referring to is what will happen to the nearly 100 individuals currently estimated to be living in the encampment behind the PennDOT building on Front Street.
Once the I-83 expansion project gets underway, the encampment will be essentially bulldozed.
“The sooner we prepare the better," said Commissioner Hartwick. "We think it’s going to be sometime at the end of the year or early 2025 but ultimately there’s no time for us to wait to be able to be coordinated, it cannot be a last-second matter.”
The city is responsible for leading the charge on what that plan will look like.
“There is no one plan, one solution, that is going to work for [every unhoused individual]," explained Dennise Hill, the city's Director of Building, Housing, and Development. "So we really have to take everything case by case. Everyone has different needs so making sure we’re meeting those needs.”
But Hill says the support of the county and state is key.
Encampments have popped up in Riverfront Park as well. Last week, the city cleared out another encampment that was underneath the Market Street Bridge.
Officials say the homelessness issue is multi-faceted, but it has been worsened by the affordable housing crisis Harrisburg, along with other cities, is facing.
“When we say affordable what that means for some individuals who are on a very fixed income, that may be $250 to $300 a month," said Randie Yeager, Dauphin County's Human Services Director. "That’s really unattainable right now.”
Hill says a portion of American Rescue Plan funding that has been allocated to the city could be used to help with building more affordable housing, as well as funding transitional housing. The City Council is expected to vote on those potential allocations in the coming weeks.
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