Boeing Gives $100K Grant To Foundation For Delco Housing Program

MEDIA, PA — A $100,000 grant will help provide housing opportunities in Delawarwe County.

Boeing Philadelphia recently presented a $100,000 grant to the Foundation for Delaware County's Housing Opportunities Program for Equity.

Housing Opportunities Program for Equity (HOPE) addresses both immediate and systemic barriers to healthy housing in Delaware County.

The program provides direct financial assistance, financial literacy education and support to participants to enable them to maintain stable housing, achieve financial security, and build wealth.

Staff are also engaging in advocacy to address the systemic barriers to healthy permanent housing by serving as a catalyst and convener to collectively build a more equitable housing system in Delaware County.

"Housing stability is the first rung on the ladder of economic opportunity and Boeing recognizes the need for safe, stable and affordable housing for families throughout the underserved areas across Delaware County," Michele Hengey, Boeing Community Investor for Delaware County, said. "Our partnership with The Foundation for Delaware County’s HOPE program addresses that need and provides direct assistance to women and families in our community."

Delaware County has the second-highest Black/White residential segregation among all ranked counties in the Commonwealth.

It also has the second-highest non-White/White segregation. This inequity significantly impacts communities of color by reducing housing opportunity, widening the healthful housing gap, and
impacting the housing stability and educational opportunities of Delaware County’s children.

According to County Health Rankings, Delaware County has the sixth-highest rate of severe housing problems among counties in Pennsylvania and the fifth-highest rate of severe housing costs:

• 16 percent of Delaware County households experience at least one of these housing problems: overcrowding, high housing costs, lack of kitchen facilities or lack of plumbing facilities.
• 15 percent of households spend 50 percent or more of their household income on housing.

While housing insecurity and conditions were exacerbated and worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, the inequities associated with healthful affordable housing are not new and will certainly persist if systemic improvements are not made now.

"Boeing recognized that the HOPE program had tremendous potential to have a real impact on our local community," Frances Sheehan, president of The Foundation for Delaware County, said. "We need kids to grow up in safe, stable and affordable housing, and that’s a real gap here in Delaware County, where Boeing Philadelphia is located. We’re very grateful Boeing selected HOPE for their investment."

Learn more about the Foundation for Delaware County and HOPE online here.