The mounting crisis of housing has become a topic of discussion for many Americans. Since the COVID-19 pandemic there has been article after article about the housing crisis. The number of people experiencing or on the brink of homelessness is growing rapidly. For most Americans all it would take is one car accident, one medical emergency, or another completely normal yet totally unpredictable life event to become homeless. The pandemic has increased the rate that this problem has grown. However, it is important to note that this issue has been an ongoing and systemic crisis. To place some numbers on it, between 2014 and 2019 there was a 58% increase in the number of people struggling through the traumatic circumstances of homelessness without even temporary shelter.
Improved understanding on the nature of homelessness has helped charitable organizations to improve their ability and rehouse people at higher rates than ever. Unfortunately, these improvements are being outpaced by the devastating levels of wage inequality and poverty that capitalism creates. This is an issue that requires us to prioritize people centered policy decisions, rather than profit motivated ones. Nonprofits estimate that it would take approximately $20 billion to resolve homelessness. For comparison, the most recent “emergency” aid package to Taiwan,Ukraine, and Israel cost the American taxpayers over $90 billion dollars.
There are many people that would argue that the state or taxpayers should not have to shoulder the burden of supporting unhoused people. I hate to break it to those that hold such beliefs but on average we each spend $31, 605 annually just to make life harder for unhoused folks. The resources we put towards policing these folks, creating architecture that makes it difficult for them to exist in public space, and police raids costs us money. Conversely, There are currently 28 vacant homes for every unhoused person in the US. Imagine what would happen if we used all of that money to help these people get back on their feet?
Outside of the natural danger of living unsheltered and constantly exposed to the elements, homelessness is a traumatic experience. Unhoused people are at risk of disease, mental health issues, substance abuse, and violence by police or peers. Furthermore, a large portion of people who are unhoused don’t have homes as a result of their mental health issues or struggles with substance abuse. How many more people could get access to life saving treatment? How could this improve the lives of the 40-60% of hardworking homeless people that still have to figure out how to regularly get to work?
Rather than addressing the severity of the crisis, shelters are closing all over, forcing more people onto the street and providing less access to programming that keeps people from becoming homeless again. Meanwhile, there are seemingly endless amounts of money and resources poured into revitalization projects. Revitalization may appear to be a great way to improve neighborhoods. They are also a driving force behind the spikes in housing costs as well as costs of living that force people out of their homes in the first place. While this is happening all over, I’d like to talk about how this is happening in my own town. These things start locally so I’d like to draw your attention to the debate over this worsening state of affairs that is sparking tensions in the Borough of Pottstown.
What happened in Pottstown?
The dismantling of services began in 2021, when the zoning board of Pottstown refused to extend the emergency zoning permit for Al’s Warming Center. In 2021, Al’s was granted an emergency permit in order to conduct their shelter operation. This was a huge help because many of the local churches did not have the means to operate a COVID safe shelter. Unfortunately, the zoning board did not approve their application to extend this permit and Al’s was forced to close its doors. Al’s director, Tom Niarhos, along with some of the other housing organizers in Pottstown were then able to create the local nonprofit Beacon of Hope. Unfortunately, the fight with the zoning board and Borough council continued on.
As Beacon of Hope began its work the following winter of 2022, they were slapped with a cease and desist by the zoning board. For context, there is not a single piece of land in Pottstown that’s zoning permits shelters to operate. This means that any organization wanting to open one has to be granted special permission by the Borough’s appointed zoning board. However, this information came as a shock because local shelters had been able to operate in the county without legal interference prior to the pandemic. The council eventually retracted their legal action against the churches and Beacon of Hope as temperatures warmed and they ceased their nightly warming center operations. Since they reopened in 2023 they have been forced to move their operation on a monthly basis in order to stay within compliance of the zoning ordinance.
The cease and desist attacks in 2021 continued as the zoning board leveled another attack at Mission First, a ministry of First United Methodist Church, for providing social services to the community as well as unhoused people in 2021. The zoning board, which is selected by the Borough’s council, advised that the community service ministries they organized were outside of the purview of a church according to local zoning ordinances. This is what prompted First United to respond that their faith gives them the right and mandate to help the community. After appealing the decision and getting the local archdiocese involved, the church was able to continue their community service ministries. However, they are now required to seek special permission if they would like to expand any of their community outreach ministries.
One of the most devastating blows was the closing of the Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center (CHOC), depriving the county of its last 24/7 shelter for people experiencing homelessness. While it was still in operation, the 40 bed facility had been near capacity each night and even had to turn guests away at times. Montgomery County responded by providing housing vouchers for hotel rooms. The voucher program is still being run in partnership with the county by some local non-profits. Unfortunately, it does not match the severity of the housing crisis that our county is experiencing.
Where are we now?
In recent months, citizens of Pottstown have grown more vocal about their concerns about the increasing homeless population. Many citizens have raised concerns about the safety of the people forced to live on the street or in some of the tent encampments that have popped up. There have also been concerns raised about the burden this issue places on business owners. While many believe that these folks living on the margins of society should have a place to go, the storefronts of local small businesses are not a safe or sustainable solution.
While the holidays and winter began to approach in 2023, the Council for the Borough of Pottstown were in the midst of yet another legal battle with Beacon of Hope on behalf of the unhoused population. As a result of the lack of shelters, a tent city was established by the unhoused population. In response, the council elected to evict and clear them off of council property. The council claimed that they had safety concerns about the location and the quality of life within the camp. Subsequent flooding of the area does substantiate that they would most likely need to move to a different place. However, many local advocates advised that by trying to make this tent city disappear it has made finding and helping this community all the more difficult. The court case resulted in a federal judge declaring the borough’s treatment of these citizens as cruel and unusual punishment. Apparently, evicting people from a field where they are taking refuge without a single attempt to offer alternative housing options is not an adequate form of public policy. However, the fear of arrest and police harassment had already caused the majority of the tent city’s residents to flee from the area.
Despite an ongoing outcry from the community to find a solution to the problem, the council has elected to spend their time and resources to appeal the decision so that they have clarification about when and how officers are allowed to attempt to disappear an entire community of people. As I mentioned in the beginning, raids by the police to dismantle homeless encampments in Pottstown are part of the trend of policy decisions that have worsened these issues. Decisions like these have left already overburdened nonprofit organizations and advocates like the ones in our community struggling to find solutions. Currently there are two remaining states where being unable to afford housing does not come with the added bonus of jail time.
The hypocrisy in the revitalization plans
In light of the judge’s ruling, the council has further argued that it is unfair to expect them to shoulder the economic burdens of yet another social service as they are the poorest borough within Montgomery County. But in this writer’s eyes, that claim feels a bit disingenuous for a few reasons, most of which can be found on the Borough and the County’s own website.
First and foremost, 77% of the financing for unhoused people in Montgomery County comes from the Federal Government. There is also a recent history of boroughs within this district turning down further federal funding that would provide affordable housing options. The cherry on top is that the nonprofit Beacon of Hope already purchased a plot of land for a permanent shelter back in 2022. Against the backdrop of that information, it is important to ask what the council has decided is worth their time and resources.
I am not in the rooms where decisions like clearing out the tent city on College Drive are made. But maybe there would have been less urgency to do so had the encampment not been nestled in the middle of one of the borough’s qualified immunity zones. A qualified immunity zone is an area where investors receive preferential tax treatment for developing certain areas. In fact, the only economic development programs still open in the Pottstown Borough are for industry leaders and businesses. How can we justify keeping these programs open while ones to support existing home owners and emerging businesses within the Borough remain closed?
While there are many benefits to these projects, they are also a driving force for gentrification and homelessness. Admittedly, the transportation and green spaces created by revitalization projects have great benefits for communities. But as I previously mentioned, they also come with spikes in housing costs that push out long time residents. Pottstown is by no means an exception. There were multiple programs created to promote economic development for local small businesses and residents. However, while those programs have been closed, programs to draw in outside investors and large businesses remain open. These actions indicate to me that Pottstown Borough’s Council has been working tirelessly to try and find ways to lure in investors, create high-end apartments, and expand the reach of industries within our town. While I want to once again make it abundantly clear that I am not in the rooms where decisions are made in the Pottstown Borough council meetings. I do want to discuss how impractical I find these efforts of revitalization seem after perusing through their strategic plans.
For example, programs like the Keim Street Gateway Plan seem like great long term investments in the community. However, the objectives are based on the hopes and dreams of businesses and very little to do with the actual people currently living in Pottstown. When you look at the outlined policy objectives of this revitalization plan (page 46) it highlights how difficult it has been for businesses in that area to even find workers for the potential developments that would somehow occur as a result of years of dedicated work and resources from the county and investors. I don’t know about you but I find it particularly frustrating that Beacon of Hope has been facing legal difficulties with trying to operate near that very gateway. How is it logical or, more importantly, morally right that Beacon of Hope would have to jump through legal hoops to provide an essential service that has a growing demand when investors get tax breaks for an imaginary demand in the very same neighborhood?
Everyone should care about housing justice
Everyone needs housing and most people are slowly but surely losing their ability to afford it. Furthermore, we all benefit when people have access to housing. The vast majority of unhoused people work. They work despite the difficulty of even being considered for employment without a permanent address and the increasing difficulty that the criminalization adds to their job prospects. The benefit of providing stable housing near an area that is already struggling to find people willing and able to work feels fairly self-explanatory. As we have discussed, this crisis of homelessness is something that more and more people are at risk of or currently facing. This risk only grows as unmitigated revitalization projects increase housing costs and displace person after person.
On top of that, there are many demographics that are disproportionately impacted by housing insecurity. This includes victims of intimate partner violence, racial minorities, veterans, foster children and many more. In a 2022 report by the Chester County Hospital they highlighted that there were particularly high impacts on black people and the LGBTQIA+ community. The legacy of discriminatory housing practices and the lack of acceptance for LGBTQIA+ youth result in them being at the forefront of this issue. The last thing these marginalized groups need is yet another way to be systemically incarcerated. Not to mention the impact that criminalizing homelessness will have on the voting rights of working people, black people, and the queer community alike. The Pottstown Borough’s actions have shown that it is a worthwhile endeavor to get in the way of social services, jeopardize support for working people, and reinforce inequality in order to further the agenda of businesses.
Hope exists within the people
While researching this piece, I had the honor of speaking with two unhoused people here in my hometown and I’d like to tell you a bit about their stories. Interestingly, their paths to being unhoused are largely similar. One gentleman was a young man of color and had struggled with trauma and mental health issues from when he was younger. This has led to struggles with maintaining his relationships, difficulties with addiction, and difficulty finding a decent job. I asked him what he would do if he didn’t have to worry about housing and his only wish was to be able to find a decent enough job to support himself and his daughter. The other man I spoke with, an older veteran of color, explained how his mental health struggles and battle with addiction started with the depression he faced after losing his wife. When I tried to ask him what he would do if he didn’t have to worry about housing, he said that he would be all right. He could not stop talking about how grateful he was to have a job helping to clean up around High Street and how grateful he is to the community here. We were sitting out in the pouring rain as he was holding onto the food he’d just received from a local charity and had the heart to ask who needs housing when you have love about the outpouring of love and support he receives from the citizens in Pottstown. I can also attest that the community has been more than willing to try and come together to solve this.
Recently, Beacon of Hope was able to participate in the Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser. This charity walk gets its namesake by taking place on the coldest night of the year. Community members come together to create teams that people can pledge towards on the night of the event. It gives people a chance to experience what it is like to brave the elements and raise funds for people who don’t have places to go on nights like these. Not only did the citizens of Pottstown avidly participate in this fundraiser, they exceeded their financial goal by 209%. Despite how financially turbulent the times, citizens of Pottstown were willing to put in work and money towards solving this issue. I believe it is beyond time that we have some policies that reflect the amount of effort and love our citizens pour into remedying it.
Conclusion: Actions speak louder than words
These photos offer the perfect encapsulation of the cruel actions that the borough has taken thus far. Here we have a lovely park bench where people can stop and take in the air. It is right near some great trails where people can exercise, walk their dogs, and play with their kids. It also happens to be directly next to a bus stop that has had its bench removed.
We can’t give someone a place to sit before they commute home after work because of the chance that a homeless person would have somewhere to sleep with a half open form of shelter from the elements? As a citizen of Pottstown, I get sick every time I drive to High Street and see that because that is not the kind of town I want to live in. Would you?
