The Pittsburgh Foundation

Housing Basic Needs

 Jala Rucker, Toni Vecchio and Evie Damon of RentHelpPGH, a Pittsburgh Foundation grantee, at the Housing Stabilization Center. They assist residents of Allegheny County in obtaining legal and financial assistance in order to avoid eviction.
Jala Rucker, Toni Vecchio and Evie Damon of RentHelpPGH, a Pittsburgh Foundation grantee, at the Housing Stabilization Center. They assist residents of Allegheny County in obtaining legal and financial assistance in order to avoid eviction.

 

The share of renters in Allegheny County has been growing over the past two decades. Renters tend to have lower incomes and are disproportionately Black. Many thousands of renters in Allegheny County are facing housing insecurity due to insufficient wages, underemployment, increasing cost of rent, long wait lists for housing assistance, unsafe living conditions, discriminatory rental practices and threat of eviction. Evictions often lead to homelessness. In Pennsylvania, landlords have a legal duty to provide their tenants a living space that is safe, sanitary and reasonably comfortable. According to the City Planning Department, there is a supply gap of 11,126 units at 50% Area Median Income (AMI) or below with the most severe gap (8,200 units) facing households earning less than 30% AMI.

Through our grantmaking, we are interested in services and activities that: 

  • Support or fill gaps in a county-wide eviction prevention system for those earning less than 50% AMI that includes rental, legal and resource navigation services, mediation, landlord and tenant education and tenant advocacy.
  • Expand service coordination or fill service gaps for those living in transitional housing and/or facing unexpected loss of housing. This includes programs providing housing navigation, furniture storage and moving expenses.
GRANT CYCLE APPLICATION DEADLINES
Spring grant cycle Feb. 26, 2024 by 5 p.m.
(for funding decision by June 6.)
Fall grant cycle July 11, 2024 by 5 p.m.
(for funding decision by Oct 30.)
 

Grant Guidelines   How to apply

 

CONTACT: 
Joshua Devine
Economic Mobility Officer, Economic and Community Development
devinej [at] pghfdn.org (devinej[at]pghfdn[dot]org)
 

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