On October 18, 2025, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato announced the completion of the ‘500 in 500’ initiative. The program began in June 2024 to address homelessness in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Its goal was to identify 500 affordable housing units and move 500 people from homelessness into permanent homes within 500 days. At the end of the project, 622 people, including over 100 families, were housed. The program identified 568 housing units.
Of the 568 units, 387 are occupied. Thirty-seven are in the process of being filled, and 12 are being matched with tenants. Twenty-eight units have been acquired and pledged to the program. Eighty-two units are under construction, and 22 are financed and moving toward construction. According to county data, 97 percent of those housed have remained in their leases and have not returned to homelessness.
The county used several strategies. It invested in repairing vacant public housing units to make them available for people leaving shelters. The county partnered with the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny County Housing Authority, and private developers to give people leaving shelters early access to available apartments. Housing vouchers were made portable across municipal lines. Human Services provided support to landlords and tenants to help maintain housing placements…