Federal funding for housing under threat as Berks County faces record homelessness

Story by Hanna Holthaus of Spotlight PA

This story was produced by the Berks County Bureau of Spotlight PA , an independent, nonpartisan newsroom. Sign up for Good Day, Berks, a daily dose of essential local stories at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/gooddayberks .

READING — Groups that serve unhoused people in Berks County may have to abandon a proven housing model or risk losing millions of dollars under expected rules from the Trump administration.

The president’s threat to end financial support for Housing First programs comes as the county experiences record amounts of unsheltered people. At the moment, nonprofits responsible for providing housing are stuck in limbo without further guidance.

Housing First programs are designed to have few, or even no, barriers to ind