Case Conferencing Prioritization Policy
The Chester County Partnership to End Homelessness is committed to ending and preventing homelessness in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The Partnership is open to and inclusive of community-based, nonprofit, private, and public organizations, as well as people with the lived experience of homelessness and concerned citizens. An elected Continuum of Care (CoC) Governance Board ensures the Partnership is aligned with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s policy and funding requirements. The Partnership provides guidance, advocacy, and community resources to support Chester County’s homeless crisis response system, which is led by the Chester County Department of Community Development and powered by a network of nonprofit service providers that provide a continuum of care to help all families and individuals exit from homelessness to permanent housing with stability.
Chester County’s Coordinated Entry System (CES) ensures equitable access to housing and supportive services for people experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness. The two core elements of CES include 1) a toll-free Call Center accessed by dialing 211 for information, screening, and referral to homeless prevention services and street outreach and 2) a mobile street outreach team responsible for engagement, homeless verification, intake, and connection to services like housing and shelter. Our goal is to make homelessness a rare, brief, and one-time only experience.
Housing Resources in Chester County
Coordinated Entry can connect residents to any combination of the following housing resources when needed and available:
Homeless Prevention services including rental assistance and supportive services like food, employment and job training, legal aid, public benefits access, and mediation services to help residents continue to stay with family or friends.
Temporary Housing services for people that are living on the street or other places not intended for human habitation. These services include emergency shelter and transitional/bridge housing.
Rehousing services to help people experiencing homelessness to find, move into, and maintain permanent housing with a lease in their name. These services include housing location, time-limited rent subsidies (6 - 12 months on average), and light case management support to help households achieve their goals for health and economic self-sufficiency.
Supportive Housing services that provide long-term rent subsidies and/or wraparound services (if appropriate and available) for people with disabilities and/or have significant barriers to permanent housing stability. These services include permanent supportive housing and housing choice vouchers.
Given the limited housing resources in our community, Coordinated Entry connects residents to the minimum level of services necessary to end or prevent their experience of homelessness. This approach, called progressive engagement, preserves more intensive and costly services for the people who need them most.