The Henry L. Hillman Foundation has announced commitments totaling $5.4 million to six organizations in support of homelessness prevention efforts in southwestern Pennsylvania.

According to the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, the number of people experiencing homelessness in the county and the City of Pittsburgh increased from 685 in 2022 to more than 900 in 2023, with rapidly rising housing costs and the expiration of pandemic support programs cited as possible causes. The grants will help preserve 584 transitional housing and single room occupancy (SRO) units and develop 60 new units in Allegheny and Washington counties, while also providing wraparound support services.

Recipients include ACTION Housing ($1.66 million), which will coordinate housing at five Allegheny County SRO properties; Bethlehem Haven ($450,000), which will renovate long-term supportive housing for women; Light of Life ($800,000), which will expand recovery housing and supportive services for individuals experiencing homelessness; Shepherd’s Heart Fellowship and Ministries ($1.5 million), which will expand services to homeless veterans to prepare them for safe and appropriate permanent housing; Washington City Mission ($500,000), which will construct a 50-bed shelter for women experiencing homelessness; and YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh ($500,000), which will renovate 88 SRO housing units in Pittsburgh’s Northside neighborhood.

“Providing safe, stable transitional housing and preserving affordable housing are both part of the big picture of helping people who are experiencing homelessness in our region,” said Hillman Foundation senior program officer Lauri K. Fink. “We have the opportunity as a community to make a real impact in creating a sufficient inventory of supportive housing throughout the county, connecting people to that housing, and providing them the supportive services they need.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Igor Alecsander)