{"id":65146,"date":"2025-12-19T11:15:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T11:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/65146\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:15:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T11:15:09","slug":"new-bethany-gets-475000-grant-to-expand-south-bethlehem-drop-in-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/65146\/","title":{"rendered":"New Bethany gets $475,000 grant to expand South Bethlehem drop-in center"},"content":{"rendered":"

BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2014 One of South Bethlehem\u2019s most vital social service agencies will get a nearly $500,000 boost to expand its facilities.<\/p>\n

New Bethany is getting $475,000 to transform its daytime drop-in center<\/a> into a full-service community resource.<\/p>\n

The plan includes renovating more than 18,500 square feet as part of the transitional housing agency\u2019s Paving the Way campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs New Bethany marks 40 years of service and the affordability crisis continues to intensify, this funding comes at a critical moment.”<\/p>\n

New Bethany Executive Director Marc Rittle <\/p>\n

Executive Director Marc Rittle said New Bethany\u2019s client roster has nearly doubled since before the COVID-19 pandemic. He said resources have been stretched beyond capacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs New Bethany marks 40 years of service and the affordability crisis continues to intensify, this funding comes at a critical moment,\u201d Rittle said in a news release.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we expand our campus and deepen our offerings, we will pave the way for our neighbors in need.\u201d<\/p>\n

The funding was announced by state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton\/Lehigh, and state Rep. Steve Samuelson, D-Northampton.<\/p>\n

The Statewide Local Share Account grant comes from taxes collected through the state\u2019s gaming laws and provides for distribution of gaming revenues through the Commonwealth Financing Authority.<\/p>\n

‘Needs are greater than ever’<\/p>\n

Based at 333 Wyandotte St., New Bethany is an advocacy and assistance organization that supports those experiencing hunger, poverty and homelessness. <\/p>\n

The drop-in center serves meals daily and provided more than 40,000 in 2024.<\/p>\n

The expansion is designed to offer a \u201chealth hub,\u201d providing primary, mental and telehealth services; a community hygiene center; meal service seven days a week; and training space for education, job and financial literacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Bethany has provided hope, opportunity and life-changing resources to thousands of people through the decades.”<\/p>\n

State Rep. Steve Samuelson, D-Northampton<\/p>\n

Expanding the office and case management space will enable doubling the number of people supported<\/a> each year, organizers say.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe demand for their services has created the need to expand their community center and this $475,000 grant will allow them to meet their demand and provide those services in a more efficient and effective manner,\u201d Boscola said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Said Samuelson: \u201cNew Bethany has provided hope, opportunity and life-changing resources to thousands of people through the decades. <\/p>\n

“This state funding will support vital improvements to their facilities and a significant expansion of the services they provide to our community at a time when the needs are greater than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2014 One of South Bethlehem\u2019s most vital social service agencies will get a nearly $500,000 boost…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65147,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,34665,34666,34667,34668,34669,1264,34670,34671],"class_list":{"0":"post-65146","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-bethlehem","9":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","10":"tag-bethlehem-news","11":"tag-boscola-grant-new-bethany","12":"tag-marc-rittle-new-bethany","13":"tag-new-bethany-drop-in-center","14":"tag-new-bethany-gaming-revenues","15":"tag-new-bethany-grant","16":"tag-new-bethany-ministries","17":"tag-samuelson-grant-new-bethany","18":"tag-south-bethlehem-food-pantry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}