The delay in passing the Pennsylvania budget has compounded a problem surrounding groups trying to solve the homeless problem in Carbon County.

During the county homeless task force meeting last week, the group talked about the lack of knowing when or even if funding for the current homeless programs will be coming from the state. As of Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Legislature has yet to pass a budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

The task force outlined that a major problem groups are facing is that funding has dried up because of the lack of a state budget.

“Many of us are out of money,” said Kim Miller of the Carbon County Action Committee, adding that they have no idea if the budget will provide funding once passed or if the programs will even be able to continue.

Talks have been taking place of some programs for housing and homeless prevention being cut out of funding streams, however, there are still no answers from state and federal levels.

“We have no idea,” said Commissioner Wayne Nothstein. “It’s going to take weeks (once a budget is passed) to find out what we’re not going to get. Then how do we make up that funding? What programs are going to be funded? In the meantime, I think a lot of the agencies still have to provide those services, not knowing whether or when they’ll get reimbursed. It’s been a big problem over the years.”

Cathy Lamm, executive director of Family Promise of Carbon County and the chair of the task force, said that part of the goal is eviction prevention and that is up in the air now.

“We’ve exhausted what we have available,” Miller said. “I don’t have funding releases, but I got my board to allow me to authorize it knowing that we have some money through December coming our way, but beyond that, some of the programs we simply don’t know.”

“It’s truly a scary time,” Lamm said.

Mary Penny, Eastern PA Continuum of Care Coordinator, said that her organization works with local groups to file for funding and noted that Housing and Urban Development had made a decision two weeks ago that pulls funding that had previously been earmarked for the organization.

“They sent us a very cryptic announcement two weeks ago that we had secured funding for two years,” she said, adding that it had been approved by a bipartisan vote last year. “... They are pulling it back. We don’t know what they’re pulling back or if they’re going to refund programs or create new ones or cancel programs. We’re waiting to hear from HUD what the Notice of Funding Opportunity entails. That’s all brand-new and will affect your local providers greatly, especially if they end programs or cease funding programs.”

On the federal level, there is legislation in the House to fund the homeless programs and COC.

“They have decided in the House, at least, not to dismantle the current homelessness system, which was part of the discussion they were going to end COCs and block grant the dollars on a state level,” Penny said, noting that while that is good news from the House, no announcement has been made from the Senate on this matter. “If you have the ear of any federal lawmaker or senator and would like to chat with them about how these programs are needed in your community, and that the need is great, and that by ending them and dismantling the system would probably not be helpful, but it might be a good time to talk about what your community needs.”

Jamie Drake, executive director of Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission, said that her agency has spent a lot of time over the last several months trying to engage the homeless population.

“I spent every Friday at the warming shelter,” she said. “We have established with a lot of those folks, at least a relationship that they know who we are.”

She said that while some of the people in need have nurtured that relationship, continuing providing basic needs is becoming difficult because grant funding is drying up right now.

“We’re in the same boat as Kim (Miller) said,” Drake said. “Budgetary wise, we are a private nonprofit entity. My money is in and out so it’s not like I have a big nest egg sitting here waiting and at this point, I’m going to be already evaluating what my next steps are if something doesn’t happen soon with the budget because we won’t event be able to pay our staff to be here.

The task force said that Carbon County’s homeless programs current have wait-lists.

Family Promise is serving six families and one single woman, but has a wait-list of over 100 families in need of help.

In just the last month, Lamm said the organization fielded 96 calls from people looking for eviction prevention, opioid homelessness and other issues.

The action committee also has had over 134 calls since April, with 22 of those callers being street homeless and 48 households under case management.

“There are a good number of people out there looking for help,” Miller said.