LANSDALE HOMELESSNESS

Operator for new Lansdale homeless facility embraces challenge

'I feel grateful for this. I'm really excited about this, but I'm absolutely not relaxing,' Jordan says

Montgomery County authorize a lease agreement during a Dec. 19, 2024 council meeting for a new “short term supportive housing facility” on Main Street in Lansdale. (MediaNews Group)

'I feel grateful for this. I'm really excited about this, but I'm absolutely not relaxing,' Jordan says

  • Community

 Christina Jordan is ready for something new.

For the program director of Resource for Human Development’s Montgomery County Homeless Services, that something new is running a 20-bed supportive short term housing facility in Lansdale.

“I’m thrilled. It’s so encouraging to see a community come together, and recognize the need, and step up to support each other,” Jordan said in a recent interview.

In December 2024, Montgomery County signed a lease agreement with the Lansdale-based Liberty Bell Realty Co. for a space at 1107 E. Main St. in Lansdale on the border of Upper Gwynedd and Montgomery townships. The lease began on Jan. 1 and will run through Dec. 31, 2034. Rent was established at $6,800 per month, according to Montgomery County Deputy Chief Operating Officer Dr. Tamra Williams.

Montgomery County allocated financing for the initiative in the 2025 budget, designating $1.3 million for operational costs as well as a $2 million investment from the 2025 portion of the Montgomery County Capital Improvement Program. The Philadelphia-based organization RHD secured the provider agency designation with a $2.7 million contract.

The new facility will offer space with one- and two- bed rooms to accommodate up to 20 people for 90 days. Bathrooms, showers and laundry, and a community space will allow staff to provide “housing-focused case management services” to single adults ages 18 years and older in the Lansdale and North Penn region, Jordan said.

“That’s our bedrock — housing-focused case management — we’re always trying to focus on housing, get you into housing and wrap other services if you need them around you to continue to get back on your feet. Make sure people, if they need it, have support for when they leave to make that transition into the community,” Jordan said.

More than 2 years after CHOC

This development will come more than 2.5 years after the closure of the Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center in Norristown. RHD had operated the facility which served as the county’s largest and only homeless shelter for single adults.

Situated on the grounds of the Norristown State Hospital, the facility offering shelter and supportive services was on a piece of state land conveyed to the Municipality of Norristown for development. It closed in June 2022 when the lease lapsed, and no new facility has been built.

“It’s so hard to rehouse yourself when you’re still outside,” Jordan said, of homeless people. “So once we bring people inside … you have a safe place and you can let your mind relax. You have a shower, you have access to technology to search for housing, you have a staff person there to help you search for housing and get you connected to … all of those things.”

Uptick in numbers

Montgomery County just conducted its annual Point-in-Time Count, a federally mandated initiative designed to gain insight into the local homelessness situation. While Tuesday night’s findings were not yet known, the past two years found 357 people experiencing homelessness in 2023 and 435 people in 2024.

Officials have long attributed several factors to an uptick, including rising cost of living, skyrocketing rents and a lack of affordable housing stock.

“As a community, more people are experiencing homelessness because housing is unaffordable, and that is going to continue to happen if we don’t do things to address housing affordability,” Jordan said.

Resources for Human Development had proposed a supportive short term housing development project on the grounds of Eagleville Hospital last year. However, Lower Providence Township officials paused proceedings in late April 2024 following staunch public opposition by township residents.

“These supportive services better your community. They make your community stronger. They support your residents. That’s not a hardship for your community. They provide immeasurable supports to your community,” Jordan said.

‘Refreshing’ show of support

In Lansdale, local officials said government, community and resident partners have all expressed concern over people experiencing homelessness. Local officials have estimated around 30 people are homeless in Lansdale.

“It was really difficult to see the conversation happening around Lower Providence, and it was really refreshing and beautiful to see a totally different style of conversation here, and to have the council president speak, to have a member of the Lansdale board also make comment and … just be so publicly supportive of such a thing,” Jordan said.

Jordan expressed some hope as she embarked on this journey in the Lansdale area as advocates and elected officials tackle the complex issue of homelessness.

Proximity to nearby social service agencies was a priority when settling on the facility’s location, with Manna on Main Street, North Penn Commons and the recently opened women’s Code Blue shelter at the Wissahickon Park facility just blocks away.

“I’m very excited to start to connect with and build relationships with the Lansdale area service providers and figure out how we can all partner,” she said, adding how “Lansdale is a different community, and [I] want to learn from them about their community, and deepen our relationships with the providers there to build a support network around our folks.”

High priority

While an exact timeline to get the Lansdale facility up and running is unclear, Montgomery County’s Housing and Community Development Administrator Kayleigh Silver told MediaNews Group “we are hoping for as soon as possible, and this remains a high priority where we are having an all hands on deck approach.”

Montgomery County signaled intentions to invest in infrastructure solutions after earmarking $10 million in the 2025-29 capital improvement program fund over the next five years for a homeless shelter. A request for proposal ahead of the award to Resources for Human Development requested services “at up to three potential sites that are being evaluated to provide short-term, non-congregant emergency shelter to single adults experiencing homelessness.”

“I feel grateful for this. I’m really excited about this, but I’m absolutely not relaxing. There is a lot more that needs to happen,” Jordan said.

Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairwoman Jamila Winder said in a December 2024 interview with MediaNews Group that conversations with municipal representatives in Norristown, Pottstown and West Norriton Township have been ongoing. Jordan agreed.

“We’re not giving up at 20 beds,” Jordan said. “We need another facility in the county to service the need, and the commissioners’ idea is trying to take a little bit more of a regional approach.

“So have a facility in Lansdale, hoping that folks in Lansdale and some surrounding communities can go to a facility closer to their home, and then have … maybe another facility or two that can be a little bit closer to home for people, which I think is a really great idea and important to keep people connected to their communities, especially when we do have such a large county,” Jordan continued.

This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between North Penn Now and The Reporter. To read more stories like this, visit https://www.thereporteronline.com





author

Rachel Ravina | The Reporter

Rachel Ravina is a journalist covering news and lifestyle features in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Blue Bell and graduated from Penn State. She's also a news enthusiast who is passionate about covering topics people want to read.



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