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$50,000 Donated For Pittsburgh Homeless

Five Pittsburgh agencies are receiving $10,000 apiece to assist their homeless programs.

Citizens Bank announced the $50,000 contribution to five nonprofits:  Light of Life Ministries, Bethlehem Haven, Familylinks, Pittsburgh Mercy Health System’s Operation Safety Net, and Sojourner House.

Henri Moore, spokesperson for Citizens Bank, said these organizations were selected because of the variety of ways in which they help.

“You know we wanted to get one that deals with the medical needs of the homeless, we wanted to get one that deals with women and children,” she said. “We wanted to get one that helps with transitional housing. So we chose organizations, you know, so we could meet everyone’s needs as best we could.”

Moore said there are no restrictions on how the money can be spent, so organizations can use it to meet any needs they see. Moore used Light of Life Ministries as an example.

“Light of Life Ministries will use it [to] serve 350 people every day, both men in one section and women and children in another,” she said. “Plus they have a living facility for people that are homeless because of dependencies on drugs or alcohol.”

The grant will assist the organizations in providing emergency shelter, transitional housing, and some health services to men, women, and children in Pittsburgh.

This is the first time Citizens Bank has donated money on this scale to a group of organizations. Moore added that she doesn’t know if these donations for homeless programs are a one-time occurrence.

“We really try to, every year we get ready to side on grants with the greatest need in the community,” she said. “So we kind of like to stay fluid, but most of our agencies we have long-standing histories with.”