Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, communities across the state have been able to leverage American Rescue Plan Act funds in creative ways to uplift small businesses, expand mental healthcare, and keep Pennsylvanians in their homes. Using funding from ARPA, the state has allocated $10.5 million towards supporting historically disadvantaged small businesses, which are either owned by women or minorities or are composed of 25 or fewer employees, that have been impacted by the pandemic. Small business support is available on the local level, too, with companies in Scranton able to receive up to $100,000 to boost employee wages and create new jobs in the community. And in a win for workers in the Keystone State, ARPA has saved the pensions of 52,000 workers and retirees from small businesses and larger corporations alike.

Through such difficult times, the Biden Administration has freed up funding to provide Pennsylvanians with comprehensive mental healthcare. In Dauphin County, the state is building a mental health crisis center to provide suitable care for those in crisis and to divert them away from prisons and emergency rooms. And in Chester County, local leaders are using ARPA funds to bulk up the county’s 9-8-8 response, dispatch mobile mental and behavioral health crisis teams, and make capital improvements to local care facilities. To increase the amount of counselors and mental health practitioners and expand resources across the state, Governor Josh Shapiro has routed $100 million to create streamlined pathways into the workforce, boost practitioner wages, and improve employee retention rates. 

The American Rescue Plan Act is working for Pennsylvania homeowners and renters, too. Using federal funds, the state has allocated $98 million for building and restoring thousands of homes across the state, adding to Pennsylvania’s affordable housing stock. The Keystone State has also infused the state’s Rental Assistance program with millions of ARPA dollars to keep vulnerable residents in their homes. And in communities throughout the region, state and local elected leaders have successfully championed low-cost or free home repair programs to ensure that residents can easily make critical updates to their houses without draining their bank account. Philadelphia received $21 million to help low-income households make weatherization and habitability repairs to their homes, maxing out at $50,000 per grant.

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act, Pennsylvania is reaching communities across the state to provide much needed relief from the economic and emotional challenges of the pandemic.