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"I am happy to share that although this work can seem daunting, we do have positive developments afoot on this issue."
Since the time of my last article on housing, there have been many insightful conversations with colleagues and community partners on how Lansdale can best address our shared challenges around housing and help those who are unhoused gain access to resources. I am happy to share that Montgomery County Health and Human Services staff, and elected officials from both the county and the Borough are coordinated on identifying both short-term and long-term solutions for meeting our unhoused needs.
As you all know, this challenge is not unique to Lansdale or Montgomery County and finding lasting and sustainable solutions has come in fits and starts.
Throughout all of this, I have had the amazing opportunity to work with Council President Mary Fuller, Vice President Meg Currie Teoh, Council Member BJ Breish, and borough staff on this issue. Together, as a team, we have been leaving no stone unturned to find solutions to our unhoused needs in our community. For background, Lansdale has hired a mental health co-responder, worked with Trinity Lutheran to aid them in their Code Blue program, and reached out to the county for possible solutions to establishing a 24/7 shelter. Despite this work, it still felt like our needs were not being met and our goals frustratingly far off despite winter, once again, being around the bend.
I am happy to share that although this work can seem daunting, we do have positive developments afoot on this issue. County staff have been working closely with Lansdale officials, particularly with Borough Council President Mary Fuller, to identify an additional location for Code Blue use this winter, fulfilling that critical need first as we move toward colder months. Additionally, it is possible that the same facility could be invested in long-term to be re-purposed or redeveloped into either a shelter or transitional housing of some kind. Meanwhile, we continue to look for additional locations within the borough for similar purposes to ensure we have back-up options should our preferred location not come to fruition.
To be very clear, as I articulated in my prior article, there is no world where Lansdale Borough establishes these resources on our own. The County’s engagement in this issue is critical and we are thankful that they are helping to identify, and potentially fund, these needed resources for our community and for the area.
As so many of you know, our whole community is eager for action on this issue, and this joint effort signifies a positive shift toward addressing one of the most pressing challenges the region faces. Together, our combined group expressed a shared goal: to ensure that no one in the North Penn area must go without shelter and I am feeling more confident than ever that we will begin blazing that path going forward.
While there’s still work to be done, this is a hopeful step in the right direction that makes our whole area a better place to live, work, and play.
(Mayoral Musings is a weekly op-ed column submitted to North Penn Now, courtesy of Lansdale Borough Mayor Garry Herbert. The views expressed are his own and are not representative of North Penn Now or Lansdale Borough.)
