 HopePHL is proud to join a large and growing coalition that includes disability rights and aging advocates along with leaders in public health, youth justice, anti-trafficking, and homelessness services who are calling on Congress to fully renew 2026 CoC grants.
Without Congressional action, communities will see rising homelessness, strained health systems, and disrupted services. People with disabilities and many others who rely on supportive housing to remain safely housed will face the greatest harm. CoC funding begins to run out in January, and communities will feel the impact throughout the year unless Congress acts. Read the full letter: https://bit.ly/3K5VEYs
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 This report is Part 1 in a series that seeks to inform state and local practitioners and policymakers about young children identified as experiencing homelessness in Pennsylvania. It updates an earlier summary using data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). Part 2 will focus on data from the HUD Continuum of Care System in Pennsylvania and other sources.
HopePHL thanks the William Penn Foundation for a $345,000 grant to expand mental health services!3/31/2025 HopePHL is thrilled and thankful to announce that William Penn Foundation has generously awarded us a $345,000 grant to expand mental health services for young children and their families. Our plans include hiring additional staff, providing training, expanding work hours and supporting the licensure process for current staff, and organizing community workshops. As we help those in our programs navigate obstacles and significant life changes, mental health serves as the essential foundation for our families to use the tools provided and create happy, fulfilling lives.
Vanessa Ingram, our Lead Youth and Young Adult Therapist in the Behavioral Health program, highlights an important aspect that many may not realize: the impact of fostering positive mental health practices from a young age. “Research has helped us understand the critical development that occurs from birth to age 5. With this expanded focus, we will be able to equip families with the necessary tools during these early stages of life, which will support resilience and provide a solid foundation for managing life's difficulties,” Vanessa explains. William Penn Foundation’s support of our program will provide mental health services for 125 families over two years. This grant also will allow our behavioral health team to expand their unique skills. “This is an excellent opportunity for our mental health clinicians to integrate evidence-based interventions, build trusting relationships, and a strong therapeutic alliance to carry out HopePHL's mission,” HopePHL therapist Kimeesha Reed-Walker says. HopePHL Managing Director of Adult & Family Services, Erica Makowski, expressed the shared gratitude across the organization, “we are incredibly grateful to the William Penn Foundation for this opportunity to expand mental health services. This funding allows us to further support families and communities while working alongside dedicated staff who make a profound impact in the community.” The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) supports homeless students with its Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness (ECYEH) office, a federally funded program.
Funds allocated toward ECYEH are used for staffing to train school personnel in 300 public district and charter schools and provide direct services like uniforms, transportation, mentoring, summer programming, school supplies, and more to better support students experiencing homelessness. This paper shares data recently published by the SDP and the Pennsylvania Department of Education using School Year (SY) 2022-23 data — the best publicly available source of data. The report offers insight for decision makers about the prevalence of student homelessness, challenges, and recommendations. The SDP’s American Rescue Plan funds (ARP) (the primary source of funding for this critical work since 2020) have expired and the new capacity and supports for students will disappear on June 30, 2025. No plans have been developed to build on or continue this support; the School District informed advocates that available state funding is not adequate to support homeless students.  A new report from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) shows the increase in young children experiencing homelessness in Pennsylvania.
Highlights include:
This report seeks to inform practitioners and policy makers about young children experiencing homelessness in Pennsylvania. HopePHL’s series called the “Children Cannot Wait Campaign” aims to increase awareness of children and youth experiencing homelessness. We provide a summary which identifies children in various categories, using recently published data from the PDE of its the Education of Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness (ECYEH) program. This week a federal court judge extended a temporary restraining order against the Office of Management and Budget’s attempt to freeze funding for federal grants and programs. This restraining order expands the scope of the initial stay issued last week. The order forbids the administration “from implementing, giving effect to, or reinstating under a different name the directives in the original OMB memo.”
While this news came as a welcome relief, we remain gravely concerned about future cuts to federal funding as spending is aligned with the administration’s agenda. The programs at HopePHL most impacted by a funding freeze receive 60% or more funding from Federal sources, and include:
These programs act as a safety net for families, youth, and young children facing homelessness or housing insecurity. At HopePHL, we are proud of our nonpartisan, nondiscriminatory efforts to serve every family and youth experiencing homelessness, and West Philadelphia residents, who engage us, as our contracts allow, and funding will accommodate. HopePHL serves 4,000 children a year and our community development work impacts 20,000 households. HopePHL’s economic impact includes:
There are over 1.8 million non-profits like HopePHL in the United States, running the gamut of offerings from financial education, small business services, literacy support, education, housing, workforce training, and resources for survivors of criminal acts. Many of which will endure financial distress and face closure with reductions in federal funds. Non-profits are sustained by a workforce of 12 million employees (more than manufacturing, construction, or finance industries) that collectively contribute $1 trillion to the United States Economy (5% of the annual GDP). For these reasons, we urge you to send the letter below to elected and appointed officials at all levels of government, and email signed copies to [email protected].  The Back to School Policy Brief was developed by HopePHL in collaboration with Philly Homes for Youth, Eddie's House, Turning Points for Children, and Valley Youth House.
With additional funding and staffing the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) was able to support 10,000 children and youth who experienced homelessness in the School Year (SY) 2022-2023. The SDP's American Rescue Plan funds (ARP) are expiring December 31, 2024, and the new capacity and supports for students will disappear. No plans have been developed to build on or continue this support; the School District informed advocates that the new state funding is not adequate for replacing supports for homeless students; the Parker Administration and City Council are talking about this, but no actions have been taken.  Forty-eight charter schools and the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) will lose $3 million in support for the thousands of students and their families who experience homelessness during the school year. The Commonwealth will lose the capacity built by the American Rescue Plan’s $32 million investment.
Despite public hearings, countless meetings, direct discussions with policymakers, and multiple policy briefs framing the issue, no legislative body answered the call to use local funds to support homeless students. Every legislator on both sides of the aisle says they support homeless students, but only Rep. Ismail Wade Smith-El of Lancaster County and Philadelphia Representative Donna Bullock publicly stepped up to keep the new capacity going. The Commonwealth and its schools will revert to the federal $5 million for the 500+ school districts and charters to support more than 40,000 children and youth who experience homelessness. Yes, we are extremely disappointed.  Forty-eight charter schools and the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) stand to lose nearly $3 million in support for the thousands of students and their families who experience homelessness during the school year. HopePHL's school-based programs, such as Thrive, depend on these critical funds to provide the best support to students.
These funds were provided by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) via Pennsylvania’s ‘Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness’ (ECYEH) program. The ECYEH program is the only federal education program that removes barriers to enrollment, attendance, and reduces truancy caused by homelessness. The schools used this money to expand their capacity to provide staffing, train school personnel, and provide direct services like short-term housing support, uniforms, transportation, motel stays, summer programming, school supplies, and more. WHAT ADVOCATES ARE ASKING FOR: Advocates are asking Mayor Parker and the Philadelphia City Council Assembly for $3 million in General Funds to continue much of the expanded support for students experiencing homelessness. We are meeting with City Council and members of the Parker Administration to convince them of this needed support. ACTION ALERT: Contact the Mayor and City Council and ask them to “Fund homeless education by investing $3 million.” Contact Mayor Parker: Mayor’s correspondence form | Office of the Mayor | City of Philadelphia Contact City Council: Use their websites to send your message: Council Members - Philadelphia City Council (phlcouncil.com) Learn more about our school-based programs here |
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