BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Bethlehem City Council heard information Tuesday night about the potential for a year-round emergency shelter.
A representative of the city’s homeless population presented a letter with numerous signatures supporting such a year-round shelter and the city’s broader efforts to address the affordable housing crisis.
The speaker described challenges, including crime and harassment, faced by the city’s unhoused population as spring approaches and the Bethlehem Emergency Shelter closes.
“It’s hard to sleep soundly when anything can happen under the cover of dark,” she said.
Community and Economic Development Director Laura Collins said converting the city’s volunteer-run emergency shelter to a year-round operation will require significant capacity building.
Collins said the project is estimated to cost about $6 million. Of that total, about $4.5 million could come from public funding sources for which the shelter has applied with the city’s assistance. A capital campaign would raise additional funds, she said.
Zoning relief would also likely be required for year-round operation.
Bethlehem Emergency Shelter is a faith-based partnership that provides a network of care and hospitality for the homeless, with overnight sheltering offered from November through April.
Collins said the city is already moving forward with a year-round family shelter at 232-234 West Packer Ave. That project, she said, is fully funded and will feature 11 family units: six one-bedroom units and five studios.
Last year, the city was awarded $1.45 million by the Pennsylvania Department of Economic Development to convert the apartment building into a shelter that the Lehigh Conference of Churches will ultimately run for the city.