The YWCA Northcentral PA recognizes the month of November as Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Month. As the only long-term shelter for homeless women and women with children, our goal is to make the community more informed about how homelessness plagues many individuals in Lycoming County.

Liberty House is a permanent supportive housing program for women experiencing homelessness who have a history of addiction. Last year we served 120 clients through the program to help them obtain employment, stay sober and find a place to live.

For people facing homelessness, finding housing begins with a call to 2-1-1 to connect with a Coordinated Entry employee who finds them the right program in a 33-county radius. If they qualify for Liberty House and a bed is available, they will come to the YWCA, 815 W. Fourth St., to start turning their life around.

On average almost 100 individuals per month in Lycoming County call 2-1-1 in need of temporary or permanent housing, according to Jackie Condor, Coordinated Entry Northern Tier Regional Manager. Across the Northern Tier region, which includes Bradford, Clinton, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga and Wyoming counties, they received 1,506 housing-related calls and texts during the month of August.

Homelessness in Lycoming County is an invisible issue. It is not like large cities where people sit in plain sight with cardboard signs asking for spare change. Here homeless individuals end up sleeping in their cars, camping in tents along the river and couch surfing, said Heather Harris, YWCA Direct Services Supervisor.
“People experiencing homelessness work to hide that they’re struggling,” she said. “Often times it is masked and people do not recognize that someone needs help.”

There is not a one-size-fits-all profile for what someone experiencing homelessness looks like. They are veterans, people struggling with addiction and mental illness, victims of abuse and even individuals with university degrees who once had high-paying jobs.

“What I want everyone to know about homelessness is that nobody deserves to be homeless,” Harris said.

In January the Department of Housing and Urban Development had its annual Point-In-Time Count where organizations count how many individuals are experiencing homelessness in their county on a designated night. Staff and volunteers count each person they see out in the community without shelter as well as people living in permanent and emergency shelters.

In Lycoming County during the count, there were 127 individuals either living unsheltered or staying in a local shelter like Liberty House. This was a 10 person increase from the 2017 count.

For 15 years, Liberty House has provided an encouraging environment for women to take the steps to become independent. Each client is paired with a caring case manager who empowers them to make positive changes that will help them on their journey to meet their personal goals.

One of the ways community members are helping spread awareness about homelessness is by “Swiping Out Hunger and Homelessness.” Different restaurants downtown will have an electronic credit card reader that gives their customers an opportunity to support Liberty House.

The credit card reader will be at the Moon and Raven Public House, 155 W. Fourth St., from Nov. 23 to Dec. 1 and the Old Corner Hotel, 328 Court St., from Dec. 2 to 10. More will be announced.

Other ways people can make a difference in our clients’ lives is by donating gently-used clothing to The Boutique, all of the proceeds from the store directly benefit the YWCA’s life-saving programs. Store hours are Wednesdays 3-6 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays 11 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m.