Basic Needs
COVID-19 and Employment of Clients of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services
Using data from Pennsylvania Unemployment Insurance records, this report explores the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment in Allegheny County. We examined the employment, earnings and unemployment benefits of working-age clients of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) from July 2019 through September 2020. This analysis sheds light on how some of ...
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Economic Security in Allegheny County: 2021 Needs Assessment
From May through August 2021, Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) engaged in a comprehensive needs assessment. The purpose of the assessment was to determine how DHS can best address the needs of individuals and families living in poverty and promote stability and economic security using Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) funds and other ...
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Forced Out: The Impact of Displacement and Place on the Residents of Bethesda-Homewood Properties
In October 2017, more than 200 residents of Bethesda-Homewood Properties — subsidized units located in several predominantly Black neighborhoods in Pittsburgh’s East End — were told that their rental subsidy would end within a month. A federal subsidy provided to the property owner was being abated because of the owner’s repeated failure to maintain the ...
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Data-Driven Efforts to Improve Housing Coordination for People Experiencing Homelessness
In 2015, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) overhauled its regulations governing services to people experiencing or at-risk for homelessness. The new guidelines required local agencies operating emergency housing programs to implement a coordinated entry (CE) system to prioritize the most vulnerable clients. The policy emphasized getting clients into stable housing immediately, ...
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Veterans in Allegheny County’s Homeless Services System
Recent national and local focus on Veterans who are experiencing homelessness has led to reduction in homelessness in this population. In order to provide more information about these individuals, this report describes Veterans in Allegheny County who received homeless assistance services at least once from 2014 through 2018, including details on demographics, housing program types ...
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COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program: Interactive Dashboard
The Emergency Rental Assistance Program offers financial assistance for people struggling to pay rent or utilities due to COVID-19. These dashboards track data about the program, those who have applied, and those who have received funds. ...
Allegheny County Community Need Index
The Community Need Index (CNI) was designed by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) to identify communities that are in greater need relative to others. The newest iteration of the index ranks communities by need level using the following indicators: percentage of families below the poverty line, percentage of unemployed males, resident education ...
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Housing and Homelessness Program Performance: Interactive Dashboard
See how well housing and homelessness programs in Allegheny County are meeting performance benchmarks like effectively using shelter bed space, helping people find permanent housing, and connecting people with health insurance and public benefits....
Community Feedback on Helping Allegheny County Residents During COVID-19 and Beyond
Input from community members is vital to the work that Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) does. One way that DHS is learning about the community’s needs is by posing questions on a public online feedback platform called Neighborland. DHS is reviewing and summarizing the answers we receive and analyzing the text for common ...
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Eviction Cases in Allegheny County, 2012–2019
Allegheny County Department of Human Services and The Pittsburgh Foundation wanted to learn more about evictions in the region: How many evictions cases are filed each year, and for how much money? How many cases are filed against low-income tenants? And how many cases do tenants win in comparison to landlords? This report describes the ...
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Improving Prioritization of Housing Services: Implementation of the Allegheny Housing Assessment
Allegheny County, like many communities across the country, does not have sufficient long-term supportive housing to serve every person or family meeting the criteria for homelessness. Although the County’s Continuum of Care (CoC) includes approximately 210 bridge housing beds, 940 rapid rehousing beds and 1810 supportive housing beds, the demand for housing is greater than ...
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ACTION-Housing’s My Place Program: Innovative Housing for Allegheny County’s Vulnerable Youth
Since 2010, ACTION-Housing’s My Place program has provided housing and case management to Allegheny County youth who are either transitioning out of foster care or at-risk for homelessness. In 2013, ACTION-Housing built a modern, energy-efficient structure — the 24-unit Uptown Lofts — with the belief that services could be offered more effectively if many young ...
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Allegheny County Point-in-Time Homelessness Data, 2020
Each year, Allegheny County participates in a national effort to count the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. The Point-in-Time (PIT) homeless count enumerates the sheltered (residing in emergency homeless shelters or transitional housing programs) and unsheltered (residing in places not meant for human habitation) homeless population within the County. ...
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Moving to Opportunity or Disadvantage? An Analysis of Housing Choice Voucher and Rapid Rehousing Programs in Allegheny County
Two housing programs in Allegheny County, Rapid Rehousing (RRH) and the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV, or Section 8), provide monetary assistance to households so that families can rent from private landlords and live in the communities of their choice. While participant choice is a potential benefit of both programs, the reality is that where ...
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Labor Market Experiences of Allegheny County Department of Human Services Clients
Since financial stability is an important part of people’s ability to live healthy and independent lives, Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) wanted to learn more about the work experiences of its clients. Using data from the Allegheny County Data Warehouse and 2018 State Unemployment Insurance records, we found that the majority of eligible ...
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Improving Survey Outreach and Assessing Satisfaction Among DHS Homeless System Clients
Allegheny County homeless service programs are assessed yearly as part of a process of evaluating and prioritizing projects for funding. This evaluation process has historically been based on administrative data about clients’ housing and self-sufficiency outcomes. In order to more fully evaluate these services – and to align with suggestions from the U.S. Department of ...
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Allegheny County Point-in-Time Homelessness Data, 2019
Each year, Allegheny County participates in a national effort required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to count the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. The Point-in-Time (PIT) homeless count enumerates the sheltered (residing in emergency homeless shelters or transitional housing programs) and unsheltered (residing in ...
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Survey of Families Using Homelessness Case Management Program Finds Satisfaction — and Preference for Texting as a Survey Method
The Homeless Services and Supports Coordination (HSSC) program, implemented by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services in 2013, provides comprehensive service coordination for families who use emergency homeless shelters. Upon entering an emergency shelter, participants meet with service coordinators who offer a range of assistance, from accessing public benefits to finding affordable housing, childcare ...
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Annual Point-in-Time Count of People Experiencing Homelessness: Interactive Dashboard
The dashboard below displays information about County homelessness trends since 2009. Click here to view a related data brief. Use the tabs to view homelessness data for one year (PIT Homeless Demographics) or trends over time (PIT Trends). Data comes from Allegheny County’s annual count of the number of people who were homeless on a ...
Allegheny County 2018 Point-in-Time Homelessness: Data Brief
Each year, Allegheny County participates in a national effort required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to count the number of people who were homeless on a single night in January. Although not required by HUD, Allegheny County also conducts a summer point-in-time (PIT) count to better understand warm weather trends. ...
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Utilization of Local Homelessness Programs
View current and past data on Allegheny County programs for people experiencing homelessness. Data is available from January 1, 2014 through the present and is updated daily....
How Youth Flow In and Out of Homeless Services (2017)
This infographic depicts the flow of homeless youth in and out of Allegheny County’s homeless service system in 2017. Analyzing the housing services that youth used — in addition to the places they were residing before and after receiving these services — helps inform outreach efforts and service planning. This is part of an effort to ...
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How Youth Flow In and Out of Homeless Services (2016)
This infographic depicts the flow of homeless youth in and out of Allegheny County’s homeless service system. Analyzing the housing services that youth used — in addition to the places they were residing before and after receiving these services — helps inform outreach efforts and service planning. This is part of an effort to prevent ...
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Allegheny County YOUth Count 2016
The Allegheny County YOUth Count survey was initiated in 2015 to gain a more accurate count of youth experiencing housing instability. Data gathered was meant to enhance yearly HUD-required Point-in-Time (PIT) homelessness counts to determine how best to connect this population with the services they need. This data brief outlines key findings of the 2016 ...
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Homeless Services and Supports Coordination: A Qualitative Program Evaluation
Implemented at the end of 2013 and designed to provide service coordination and supports for families accessing Allegheny County’s four emergency homeless shelters, the Homeless Services and Supports Coordination program (HSSC) served about 300 families with children in its first year. This evaluation was designed to elicit information about participants’ experiences with HSSC services as ...
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Allegheny County Point-in-Time Homelessness Data, 2010–2017
Once a year, during the last 10 days of January, a Point-in-Time (PIT) count is conducted to identify individuals and families who are unhoused or living in housing programs operated through Allegheny County’s Continuum of Care for people experiencing homelessness. The following data briefs provide information about these individuals and families and their housing status. ...
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2015 Allegheny County DHS Local Government Case Competition
Fifty-three students representing 14 programs from five universities participated in the ninth annual Local Government Case Competition, focusing on transportation challenges for Allegheny County residents. Supported through the Human Services Integration Fund, the annual competition engages students to find creative solutions to real-life social problems The first-place team proposed a mobile app to help coordinate ...
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Allegheny County YOUth Count 2015
This data brief summarizes the results of the YOUth Count survey, Allegheny County’s first point-in-time count focused specifically on the number and needs of homeless and/or unstably-housed youth ages 18 through 24 years. Click here to read the full report. Data analysis/writers: Hilary Scherer and Abigail Horn...
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Families Involved in the Allegheny County Homelessness System
In 2014, the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) conducted a review of its homelessness services system as a first step in planning for and promoting effective strategies for reducing homelessness. This report provides information about the population of families experiencing a housing crisis in Allegheny County from 2009 through 2013, with a particular ...
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Individuals Involved in the Allegheny County Homelessness System
This report describes individuals who experienced a housing crisis in Allegheny County from 2009 through 2013, with a particular focus on the 2009 entry cohort. Click here to read the full report. Click here to read a related report about families involved in Allegheny County’s homelessness system. Analysis and content: Ryan Burger, Abigail Horn, Brian Bell ...
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Sharing Data to Support Homeless Students in Allegheny County
Schools districts and human service systems define homelessness differently (as mandated by their respective regulatory and funding entities), resulting in many youth who are known to only one system. While being homeless is a disruptive experience that often hurts educational achievement, homeless youth are afforded additional supports to counteract these impacts. This report examines the ...
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2014 Allegheny County DHS Local Government Case Competition
The 2014 Local Government Case Competition engaged graduate students from local universities in identifying solutions to housing instability for individuals/families involved in the human services system. This report provides information about the competition, its history, and the key ideas generated by the participants. Click here to read the full report. Prepared by: Marina Duane and ...
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Homeless in Allegheny County: The Client Experience
DHS conducted a review of Allegheny County’s services for homeless individuals and families, as part of a strategic plan to improve the quality, accessibility and comprehensiveness of the system; this report focuses on the client perspective of the system and includes a description of current system change activities as well as recommendations for further action. ...
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Never Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste: Building a Better Home-Delivered Meals System
When its largest provider of Home -Delivered Meals (HDM) suddenly decided to discontinue its service, the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) had just weeks to ensure that 800 frail and disabled adults would continue to get the meals they depended upon. Partnering with six providers, AAA seized the opportunity to reshape the HDM program. By ...
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I’ll Never Get Used to It: Young People Living on the Street
Designed to inform local leaders, this report places the issue of homeless youth within a national context and provides information about local need, services and strategies to prevent and address homelessness among Allegheny County’s young adults. Click here to read the full report....
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Immigrants and Refugees in Allegheny County: Scan and Needs Assessment
This assessment provides information on local immigrant and refugee populations in order to identify current and emerging service needs, gaps and barriers. It includes a set of recommendations for improving their access to services. Click here to read the full report....
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2012 Allegheny County DHS Local Government Case Competition: Addressing Suburban Poverty and Those Affected by It
The sixth annual Local Government Case Competition focused on the issue of suburban poverty. This report summarizes the winning presentations as well as the key ideas generated during the competition. Click to read the full report. ...
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Prevention Programs Across the Department of Human Services
DHS is committed to meeting the human services needs of county residents, particularly the county’s most vulnerable populations, through an extensive range of prevention, early intervention, crises management and after–care services. While system involvement is sometimes inevitable, necessary and highly beneficial to consumers, DHS believes that preventing the need for such system interventions can ultimately ...
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Homewood: A Community Profile
This profile of the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Homewood (and subsequent Addendum) was compiled by DHS to assess demographic changes and examine quality of life issues-poverty, education, health care-in Homewood and in the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County to accurately assess the community’s assets and needs. Click here to view the full report. Click here ...
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Serving Consumers with Limited English Proficiency
DHS surveyed providers and DHS staff on behalf of the Immigrants and Internationals Advisory Council to identify the need for limited English proficiency services in the community and assess DHS’s ability to meet those needs. Results of the survey are included in this report. Click here to read the full report....
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Understanding the Allegheny County Homeless Population
DHS examined a cohort of homeless individuals to describe the demographic composition and service utilization of the county’s homeless population, as well as to quantify the costs associated with their care. Homeless individuals in Allegheny County frequently consume public resources and contribute to a measurable and sizable public expense; the consumption of mental health services ...
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Home Foreclosures in Allegheny County
In this analysis, DHS examined the issue of home foreclosures in Allegheny County. Click to read the full report....
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Immigration and Public Benefit Eligibility: An Overview
This document, created in response to needs identified by the diverse groups participating in the DHS Immigrants and Internationals Advisory Council, serves as a resource guide for those seeking information about immigrants’ eligibility for public benefits. Click here to read the full resource guide....