Last week, Butler County issued a resolution citing the lack of emergency shelters for homeless families in the area.
County leaders say a combination of factors are at play, including the lack of affordable long-term housing.
That topic was recently addressed in Harrisburg.
“It’s due to the costs and challenges of finding land and buildings that we can develop into affordable housing versus a market rate housing,” Andrew Haines of the Pennsylvania Developer Council said.
“In areas where it is affordable, it’s not a market challenge, it’s a challenge of blight. It’s also a challenge market components of finding financial means to develop affordable housing,” Haines said.
He and other officials also cited that housing is rapidly outpacing wages and growth. They estimate that 30 percent of renters are now cost-burdened.