The People’s Emergency Center, located at 39th and Baring streets, dedicates each day to helping people and families in Philadelphia who are struggling with homelessness. It offers multiple programs including a GED program, emergency housing and other assistance.
Melinda Brown, a workforce developer at People’s Emergency Center, has worked there for about a year and a half. She said that one of the growing concerns for the center and other similar organizations is that they are expecting a significant funding cut by the government.
“They’re trying to cut the amount of funding in half,” she said. Besides homeless shelters, among the organizations that will face heavy cuts are family planning programs such as Planned Parenthood, education, and various low-income family programs. Brown said funding cuts to these particular organizations are problematic because they are often preventative methods in fighting homelessness.
“It’s a major problem for us in this field right now because these are services that we use to try to prevent things from happening later,” she said. “They help prevent homelessness or becoming pregnant at a young age without resources or any support system or help.”
Brown said that the only chance of preventing these cuts is for the community to get involved by contacting legislators.
“You have to write and you have to call,” she said. “You have to say something for your voice to get heard.”
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