New Bethany Ministries is putting housing advocates in more Bethlehem schools to help provide services to students and families in need. WDIY’s Sarit Laschinsky has more.
New Bethany recently announced that its Housing Advocacy Program is expanding to three more Bethlehem Area School District elementary schools – Marvine Elementary, Thomas Jefferson Elementary, and William Penn Elementary.
In a release, the organization said the expansion helps “fulfill its mission of providing comprehensive programming to help individuals and families work towards, achieve and maintain self-sufficiency.”
Through the program, housing advocates work with faculty to support and provide school district families with rental and other housing assistance services.
New Bethany said members of the district’s school board recently approved increasing its housing advocate positions through an American Rescue Plan Homeless Children and Youth grant, which sets aside certain funding to provide support and resources.
The Housing Advocacy Program was announced last year and funded through a donor from the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley. It started by placing advocates at three BASD schools – Broughal Middle School, Donegan Elementary School and Fountain Hill Elementary School.
New Bethany says currently, each housing advocate spends 20 hours per week providing services – such as counseling, rent assistance, or housing placement – at each school, and in the program’s first year it provided help to around 40 families.
(Original air-date: 11/1/22)
