Two Meadville nonprofits receive state grant awards

Jun. 18—Two Meadville nonprofits were among 245 housing and community development initiatives statewide that received funding through the latest round of Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement grants announced by Gov. Tom Wolf last week.

Center for Family Services Inc. was awarded $150,000 for its Assisted Re-entry for Maximum Success program, which provides intensive wrap-around case management and counseling services for people upon release from Crawford County Correctional Facility or SCI Cambridge Springs.

Common Roots was awarded $125,000 to support renovations in its four-unit affordable housing development at 1189-1191 S. Main St.

The "ARMS" program offered by Center for Family Services is entering its third round of funding, according to Executive Director Jason Nesbitt. It was launched as a pilot program with a $50,000 PHARE grant in 2019 and continued thanks to a $175,000 grant in late 2020.

"We have seen the impacts of this program," Nesbitt said. "We've created something pretty special."

The goal of the program, which enrolls about eight people at a time, is "to end the revolving door of incarceration," Nesbitt explained.

It's a goal that can best be achieved by taking the time to invest in individuals and creating pathways to permanent positive change and self-sufficiency, according to Nesbitt. "It can't just be here's your rent paid for a month," he said.

To see evidence of the program's impact, Nesbitt need look no further than the CFS office — staff member Morgan Tingwall, a former ARMS program participant, went from more than a decade of being in and out of jail to being a valued CFS employee.

Common Roots continues its conversion of a duplex into four energy efficient one-bedroom apartments, a project that has, to this point, been driven by volunteer labor, according to Don Goldstein, the nonprofit's vice president. The PHARE grant will enable the use of contractors for the remaining work and allow completion "with significantly less borrowing than would have been required in the absence of that grant."

That will have a direct effect on the bottom line for future renters by keeping the apartments more affordable, according to Goldstein.

"The funds will be disbursed this summer. We expect to finish up the renovations by the end of the year and to have residents in there early in 2023," Goldstein said.

Common Roots also hopes the grant award will serve as a stepping stone, according to President Julie Wilson.

"We have learned a lot during this first project and continue to be so grateful for the support we get from our community and for all of our partners who helped us get here," Wilson said. "We can't wait to bring these units online next year and to scale our housing work in the years to come."

The two nonprofits are the only Crawford County organizations to receive PHARE funding in the current slate of $48.4 million in grant awards for fiscal year 2021-2022. The PHARE fund is managed by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. Organizations in all of the state's 67 counties received funding.

"This program ensures that communities are able to preserve existing housing and create new housing so all Pennsylvanians have access to affordable, safe housing statewide," Wolf said. "This funding will ensure that the money is applied where the need is greatest and can accomplish the most good."

PHFA staff report that at least 69 percent of the $48.4 million allocated last week will be used to fund housing projects benefiting households with incomes below 50 percent of the area median income.

Mike Crowley can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at .