Letter to the editor: Addressing housing crisis in Westmoreland

American Rescue Plan Funds are finally being used in Westmoreland County. Commissioners Gina Cerilli Thrasher, Doug Chew and Sean Kertes, thank you for your preliminary work. You now have a moral obligation to spend the remaining $70 million to help those most devastated by the pandemic.

Allocating funds toward blight in our county, at first blush, seems like a positive step. Removing dilapidated structures and opening the doors to private developers, however, does nothing to address blight’s underlying causes, such as poverty, unemployment and depopulation. Simply tearing down buildings ignores the housing insecurity felt by our most vulnerable residents. Where are the real solutions?

A home stabilization fund would invest in underserved communities with high rates of abandoned and foreclosed homes and help households buy or keep a place to live. Educational programs on finance and home maintenance should be offered. Such a fund would aim to rehabilitate blighted homes and residential properties rather than demolish them.

You can no longer deny Westmoreland’s worsening housing crisis. The remaining $70 million provides an unprecedented opportunity to address significant housing and shelter issues. It is time to invest in the residents of Westmoreland County. Every one of us deserves to live a dignified life.

Charmaine R. Strong

Greensburg

The writer is a member of Voice of Westmoreland.