Westmoreland plots program to shelter more homeless during cold winter

As the mercury continues to rise this summer, Westmoreland officials have started to explore how the county might keep its homeless residents warm this winter.

The county’s Homeless Advisory Board met Wednesday at the courthouse in Greensburg to consider the expansion of a program that, since 2015, has helped to ensure there is refuge from frigid winter temperatures.

“It’s a challenge in this climate, and financial resources are sparse. We have to start to think a little bit different about this,” said Dan Carney, co-chairman of the advisory board.

The Union Mission near Latrobe, where Carney serves as director, is one of several programs that provided about 154 total shelter beds last winter for the county.

Officials are hoping to supplement that number through donation of temporary sleeping space at other facilities, such as churches, which could accommodate the homeless during cold snaps.

Jesse Sprajcar, director of regional impact initiatives for the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, said that since the 2015-16 winter, his organization has made funding available through its 211 program.

The program last winter provided shelter for the equivalent of 549 nights to county residents through supplies made available at local facilities or with vouchers for local motels.

It has grown from providing assistance for 89 nights of warmth nearly a decade ago.

Cold weather shelters are made available throughout the county when temperatures fall below 25 degrees from Nov. 15 through March 15. The assistance is available to homeless residents but also for those who might be without heat during the cold months.

“We need to grow this,” Sprajcar said, noting the advisory’s board’s work is essential to consolidate the county’s efforts to assist the homeless. “We want to bring these programs together that are doing this work. We’re all scattered around here. So bringing them together can help.”

Officials said the county will take a proactive approach to find homeless residents before next winter. An audit will seek out the homeless in October, mirroring an exercise undertaken last January that identified 25 people without shelter during one of the coldest days of the year.

Lori Wiester, program manager with the county’s department of human services, said the January survey — in which volunteers crisscrossed the area in search of those living outdoors — most likely presented an incomplete picture of shelter needs.

Launching a similar and expanded survey before winter could generate a better tally of the county’s homeless population.

“We’re hoping it will be a better representation of our needs and where these people are,” Wiester said.

Homeless surveys, which are required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, have been conducted annually.

Wiester said plans are to increase the surveys to twice each year.

“We know we do not have shelter capacity for everybody, but we want to have an accurate count,” Wiester said. “Then we can make sure people know what we have and what resources we need.”