Norristown Zoning Board Approves Variance for 50-Bed Shelter Program

Montgomery County is one step closer to opening a proposed temporary, short-term emergency housing program in Norristown. At a special meeting on Wednesday night, the Norristown Zoning Hearing Board voted 4-1 to approve the county’s application for a zoning variance for 1430 DeKalb St. The variance would authorize a 50-bed transitional housing program in the space.

The shelter would expand the county’s Department of Health and Human Services campus. It would provide year-round, 24/7 wraparound services to up to 50 pre-screened single adults, and no walk-ins or drop-offs would be permitted. Your Way Home, the county’s housing crisis response system, would provide financial literacy services, job training, addiction services and mental health support. The stated goal is to help people find long-term, permanent housing.

According to the county, more than 100 people are sleeping outside in Norristown on any given night. Officials have also said that Pottstown has one of the highest percentages of homelessness in the county, and that the proposed shelter could reduce homelessness in the area by up to 75%.

The Norristown facility would be the third initiative to emerge from a countywide effort to expand emergency shelter and services for people experiencing homelessness. In January, commissioners voted to establish a 120-bed emergency shelter option in Pottstown. A year-round, permanent transitional housing facility with 20 beds in Lansdale is slated to open later this year.

Commissioner Jamila Winder said at Thursday’s Board of Commissioners meeting that county officials had been at the Norristown zoning meeting until about 12:30 the previous night to advocate for the initiative. She described it as a way to help “our most vulnerable friends and neighbors” who struggle to find a safe, reliable and consistent place to live, including those sleeping in cars, couch surfing or in unstable living conditions. Winder noted that the county has been working to address the lack of a 24/7, year-round shelter since the Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center in Norristown closed in 2021. Showing hospitality to neighbors without a safe place to stay is a practical form of care (Isaiah 58:7).

Winder said the county aims to open the facility at the beginning of 2026. “I’m just really grateful that municipalities are stepping up to be a part of the solution,” she said. She added that ending homelessness is complex and that progress has depended on many partnerships, naming Norristown, Pottstown and Lansdale as municipal partners. “We still have a lot of work to do, but this is a step in the right direction,” she said.

Source: Read the original report