‘Meeting the Moment:’ HealthSpark conference addresses homelessness and affordable housing in Montgomery County

(Feb. 26, 2024)

At the HealthSpark Conference breakout session, "Problem-Solving Legal Issues Impacting the Homeless and How to Build Collaboration between Entities that Could Help," Carolyn Johnson (at right), LASP Chief Counsel, was joined by Sheldon Good (at left), Director of Development and Strategic Direction, Manna on Main Street in Lansdale & discussion moderator; Alexis Moyer, Mental Health Co-Responder with the Lansdale Police Department and Merakey Behavioral Health; and Andy Block, Upper Moreland Township Police Chief. | Feb. 12, 2024 at Bryn Mawr College

BRYN MAWR - Community leaders from Montgomery County and beyond gathered Feb. 12, 2024 at the HealthSpark Foundation conference, "Meeting the Moment: Taking Action on Homelessness and Affordable Housing in Montgomery County." Held at Bryn Mawr College’s Old Library, the event shed light on the current situation and possible solutions, highlighting partnerships.

Charles Burrows, LASP Staff Attorney, and Kathryn Palladino (center), Norristown Managing Attorney.

Opening remarks from HealthSpark President and CEO Emma Hertz highlighted data points to illustrate the intensity of the homelessness and affordable housing crises in Montgomery County: 

  • Recent data shows that one-third of Montgomery County residents can’t afford their home. That includes both renters and homeowners.  

  • 74,000 households live above the poverty line but earn below what it costs to live in Montgomery County. 

  • The largest growing cohort of housing unstable households are those earning between $45,000 and $75,000 annually. That’s the traditional middle class. 

  • Rents in traditionally affordable communities like Schwenksville, Hatfield, and Lower Pottsgrove have increased over 200% since 2019 in some cases. These increases have far exceeded inflation. 

  • Montgomery County now has the third highest rate of evictions in Pennsylvania, recording 22 evictions per day. 

Panel: Problem-Solving Legal Issues Impacting the Homeless and How to Build Collaboration between Entities that Could Help

Carolyn Johnson, LASP Chief Counsel, served as a panelist as part of the morning breakout session, "Problem-Solving Legal Issues Impacting the Homeless and How to Build Collaboration between Entities that Could Help."

She was joined by Alexis Moyer, Mental Health Co-Responder with the Lansdale Police Department and Merakey Behavioral Health; and Andy Block, Upper Moreland Township Police Chief. Sheldon Good, Director of Development and Strategic Direction for Manna on Main Street in Lansdale, moderated the discussion.

Chief Block said that the Upper Moreland Township Police Dept. holds food drives and clothing drives. “We have grocery bags that we carry in patrol cars. If we encounter one of our homeless friends, we give this to them,” also noting, "We're trying to reinforce a positive interaction with them … giving information about county services and things of that nature.” He said he strongly advocates to try to find a location in eastern part of Montgomery County to establish a shelter.

Building ‘the trust factor’

Good said that in his role at Manna on Main Street in Lansdale, he sees Moyer multiple times per week on her rounds with the Lansdale Police Department. Lansdale PD partnered with Merakey Behavioral Health to launch a Co-Responder program in summer 2023.

The program pairs a social worker with an officer. “When there is a crisis, whether it's mental health, drug and alcohol, or someone who's unhoused in the borough, I'm able to go with the officer in real time to help deescalate,” Moyer said. “... I'm able to stay with the individual, assess what kind of needs there are. And I'm able to develop and build relationships, because this is what it's all about. I’m going to meet someone outside where they're living and build the relationships. … It's the trust factor, right?

“People have a hard time trusting us. I'm able to sit with them for half hour or an hour, and then I'm able to come back the next day or several times a week to build the trust factor. Then I'm able to then help them access services, which is the beauty of this job. … Once I'm able to build trust, they're more likely to access services.” The co-responder program is funded through a two-year grant, Moyer said. She credits relationship-building with calls to the police department for these individuals.

Good noted that LASP has been assisting folks, not just in Montgomery County, but other counties as well, who are or were living outside. “Certainly legal issues are in play in any number of respects both with individuals as well as with municipalities,” Good said.

Johnson explained, “Legal Aid of Southeastern PA is a provider of free civil legal services, and we operate in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. Part of that mission is serving our most vulnerable communities, and who is more vulnerable than the homeless community? Those who are sleeping outside are those who only have a few belongings that may be lost if there's police action or if the weather is just bad.”

LASP’s focus is multi-faceted and includes a community outreach task force working with community partners from the four counties. LASP works directly with community partners such as Access Services / Montgomery County Street Outreach, Better Days Ahead, and The Salvation Army of Greater Pottstown. Outreach can connect people experiencing homelessness with legal services, including access to public benefits, getting into public housing, and obtaining identification documents. LASP has also developed an Advocacy Team that focuses on litigation and the pursuit of solutions to improve the lives of the homeless. The work of the Advocacy Team includes utilization of a United Nations Human Rights Council Complaint Procedure in partnership with Villanova University, she said.

Charles Burrows, LASP Staff Attorney, noted that the Human Rights Council lacks an enforcement mechanism, but “it can really move the needle in terms of having the conversation and bringing people to the table.”'

Sunanda Charles-Brown, Executive Director of the Norristown Hospitality Center, discussed the criminalization of homelessness. “What does it mean for a homeless person? They get ticketed for things that you and I are doing inside the house,” she observed. “They have to do all of that outside. ... And what we've seen over the years is they get a ticket. They don't have an address. … They can have an address of the hospitality center. Right now. I think we still have over 500 people that have an address of the hospitality center, and even when they get their mail, they don't turn up at court when they have a court date. And so it escalates into a bench warrant.” She outlined a program to work with the legal system.

Johnson noted that LASP has funder-based restrictions that prevent it from helping with criminal defense. However, LASP does help with the expungement process.

She noted that the case before the U.S. Supreme Court, City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, has legal issues similar to the legal issues in Better Days Ahead Outreach Inc. v. Borough of Pottstown brought by Community Justice Project (CJP) and Legal Aid of Southeastern PA. “It is the same Eighth Amendment legal issue and the same principles in our case, which has been appealed to the Third Circuit by the Borough of Pottstown. It's our expectation that the Third Circuit is probably not going to rule on our case until after the Supreme Court case has been resolved.”

Note: LASP meets regularly with community organizations in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties and is working to collaborate with partners to expand legal outreach to people experiencing homelessness in these four counties. For more information, please contact Carolyn Johnson at cjohnson@lasp.org.

Further reading

Marion Fraley