Lansdale inspiring change with opening of Montgomery County homeless facility

 Todi’s Place of Hope, a 20-bed supportive short term housing facility in Lansdale officially opened its doors on Monday, offering respite for individuals experiencing homelessness.

The facility at 1107 E. Main St. offers shelter, food and case services for people in the North Penn area. It’s the first brick-and-mortar designated social services space to open in Montgomery County since the Norristown-based Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center’s closure in June 2022.

“The good news is our neighbors with the greatest needs in the Lansdale and North Penn area will now have a place to stay 24/7, have access to supportive services and be better positioned to secure permanent housing as fast as possible,” said Sheldon Good, director of development and strategic direction for Lansdale nonprofit Manna on Main Street.

The project has been in the works for some time. With hundreds of area residents experiencing homelessness, Montgomery County leaders are taking what they call “a regional approach” to tackle the crisis in Lansdale, Norristown and Pottstown.

Lansdale was the first project to come to fruition as officials commemorated the milestone at a ribbon cutting ceremony last week.

“I think that this project is unique in the fact that it begins to set a new standard and tone for municipalities across the county. I think it creates a blueprint for boroughs and townships on how they can work with the county in order to develop their own solutions to these challenges,” said Lansdale Borough Councilman Garry Herbert.     

Herbert, who previously served as mayor, and other council members touted the flourishing relationship with their county counterparts to make the shelter a reality. County commissioners in December 2024 executed a 10-year lease agreement with Lansdale-based Liberty Bell Realty Co. for the 4,800-square-foot space. The county allocated $1.3 million for operational costs, $1.3 million for construction and secured a $1 million contribution from Nand Todi, of Penn Manufacturing Industries and the Gwynedd Valley-based nonprofit the TODI Foundation.

“Every person who walks through these doors [realizes] that their future is not defined by their past,” Todi said last week. “This is a place where hope is restored, where dreams are rekindled and new life can begin.”

    Nand Todi, center, a local philanthropist and entrepreneur, makes remarks on Feb. 20, 2026 at the ribbon cutting ceremony at Todi’s Place of Hope, the new supportive short term housing facility in Lansdale. Also pictured, from left, is Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Jamila Winder, Shashi Todi, Montgomery County Commissioner Tom DiBello, and Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Neil Makhija. (Photo courtesy Montgomery County PA)
  

    Montgomery County philanthropist and entrepreneur Nand Todi is pictured signing a check for $1 million as a contribution toward Todi’s Place of Hope, a new supportive short term housing facility in Lansdale on Feb. 20, 2026. (Photo courtesy Montgomery County PA)
  

    Montgomery County Commissioner Tom DiBello, center speaks at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Feb. 20, 2026 at Todi’s Place of Hope in Lansdale. Also pictured, from left, are Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Jamila Winder and Vice Chairman Neil Makhija. (Photo courtesy Montgomery County PA)
  

Operated by the Philadelphia-based Resources for Human Development, the facility provides single and double occupancy rooms, bathrooms, showers, laundry, and a community space for adults ages 18 years and older who will reside there for an average 60-to-90 days. Additional services include food, mental and behavioral health services, employment training, gaining access to benefits, and veterans services.

Accessibility to nearby social service agencies is key for facility residents and partnering nonprofits as officials have noted that the women’s Code Blue shelter at the Wissahickon Park facility and Manna on Main Street are both within walking distance. Good said that Manna on Main Street was also contracted to procure food for shelter residents.

“…It’s a critical resource, and I think helps to shed light on the crisis that is homelessness in Montgomery County, and all across our country,” Good said, adding “we anticipate some of the people we serve at Manna will be served by this new resource.”

‘Bold statement from the county’

Officials praised the partnership with governing partners in Lansdale when the opportunity to pursue a development presented itself. Both government and the community members have expressed concern over people experiencing homelessness.

“I’m so grateful for the community and the support that they’ve shown to make this facility a reality,” Herbert said. “Without them, it would have been a much harder push, and I’m really grateful for the way that Lansdale embraced the opportunity to set a new tone, set a new standard for not just ourselves, but for Montgomery County as well.”

Borough officials estimated around 40 people are experiencing homelessness in the borough, but the borough alone did not have the resources or capacity to bring forth a project like this.

“I think this is a bold statement from the county to say that they agree with Lansdale, and they agree with community leaders who say, we may not know exactly what the solution is, but we’re willing to try new things,” said Lansdale Councilman BJ Breish.

Years to get here

Rates of homelessness have been on the rise in a county without a major operational shelter since the closure of CHOC nearly four years ago. There were 357 individuals who reported homeless in 2023, 435 people in 2024 and 534 people in 2025 during the Point-in-Time Count, according to figures from the Norristown Hospitality Center. Participants conducted the annual 2026 count in late January, however, figures are not yet available.

Breish acknowledged a shift as officials continued grappling with the issue. “We’re trying to identify real solutions, real compassionate solutions that are actually going to make a difference in people’s lives, and also recognizing … this could be any of us,” Breish said. “It could happen to anyone, and if we want to build a strong community, then we have to take care of everybody in that community.”

‘Stand up and take the lead’

Homelessness is a reality countywide but has been most visible in the larger towns of Norristown and Pottstown, as homeless encampments been spotted since CHOC’s closure. With a concentration of social services agencies in the two boroughs, they often bear the weight of the burden. Elected officials have urged more municipalities to step up.

“I think it’s important for all municipalities to stand up and lead on this issue,” Herbert said. “And I’m very proud of the fact that Lansdale embraces this idea that we have to do better.

“We have to serve our community better, and that includes approaching issues like this with a sense of grace, a sense of understanding and making sure that when we lift each other up in this way, we really are making sure that everyone is a part of that lift,” he continued.

Good agreed. “We hope that that other communities follow Lansdale’s example and that it’s a reminder that … we need all hands on deck,” Good said. “There isn’t any one entity or organization that can or should be addressing homelessness.”

Breish noted that in the past, when having “a conversation with … someone in Lansdale” about the homelessness crisis, the person would respond with “this is a much bigger issue, this is a county issue, this is a state issue.” At the county level, Breish recalled hearing that “we know it’s an issue, but we’re trying to find municipalities that want to partner with us,” as the conversation continued “bounc[ing] back and forth.”

It comes as sweeps of homeless encampments have been conducted and municipalities institute policies that impose stricter guidelines for seeking shelter overnight in public parks. “It’s irresponsible to continue to kick the can down the road,” Breish said. “It doesn’t solve anything. It’s just continuing to make the problem bigger and bigger.

“I want to thank our community for understanding that … real compassionate solutions aren’t easy, because I’m still not sure that any one entity or any one person has a solution for all these difficult challenges. I mean, if it was easy, it wouldn’t be a challenge, it wouldn’t be a problem, it would be solved,” he continued. “But what we’re trying to do is we’re trying to collaborate. We’re trying to work together.”

Where magic happens

This new facility in Lansdale marked a shift toward that “collaboration,” Breish added.

“We’re seeing all those different groups — the county, the municipal level — we’re seeing them collaborate with one another, work together to try to find solutions and and that’s really where the magic happens, in the collaboration,” Breish said.

The collaboration also includes a private component, as officials sought to honor the facility’s namesake and seven-figure cash infusion from Todi.

“When I came to this country in 1970, I had very little besides my engineering degree and a hope, a dream,” Todi said.

Todi said he was not at first aware that “we have a homelessness problem In this county.” He said he heard more on the situation from Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Neil Makhija, and when he learned about plans for the supportive short term housing facility, he became a sponsor.

Todi said he was “immediately very much interested in that because homelessness is very close to our hearts. I experienced it firsthand in India.”

Regional approach

Here in the Philadelphia suburbs, the state’s second wealthiest county is confronted with “dual crises” of homelessness and a lack of affordable housing stock.

“As critical as this new resource is, permanent housing is what ultimately ends homelessness. That is the North Star,” Good said. There’s a “housing crisis, which is what feeds the homelessness crisis.”

Montgomery County first signaled intentions to invest in infrastructure solutions for homelessness by earmarking $10 million in the 2025-29 capital improvement program fund for a shelter, with an infusion of federal COVID-19 relief dollars furthering these initiatives.

County officials also executed a lease for up to 120 beds at a Pottstown hotel and received zoning relief for a 50-bed facility in Norristown, which officials say is expected to break ground next month.

Beacon of Hope, operated by a Pottstown nonprofit, is building a 45-bed transitional shelter in Pottstown to serve the western part of the county.

“I think Lansdale [is] the first, and we’re really proud of being the first one to … approach this issue in a substantive way. But I doubt we will be the last,” Herbert said.

“This is the start. This isn’t the solution. We haven’t solved everything,” Breish said. “But I hope that this is something that transcends Lansdale, and as other communities see what we’re doing here, we [inspire] meaningful, compassionate change.”

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