Lebanon

Lebanon, Pennsylvania is a small, working-class city in the Lebanon Valley, surrounded by farmland and marked by its old brick rowhomes, a slower pace than nearby Harrisburg or Lancaster, and a tight-knit community that still remembers its roots as a steel and pretzel-manufacturing town. The average household income here sits around $65,000, but that figure hides real pockets of poverty, especially downtown and along Cumberland Street. Lebanon County's point-in-time count identified 87 people experiencing homelessness in January 2023, a number outreach workers say undercounts those sleeping in cars, campsites, or doubling up with family. If you're on the street here, Lebanon Rescue Mission offers shelter beds, meals, and a place to get warm, while Blessings of Hope distributes food to families and individuals struggling to get by. UCHS (Lebanon County United Church Homes and Services area programs) and the Lebanon County Christian Ministries have also historically helped connect people with clothing, food, and emergency assistance. This city is small enough that people notice each other — use that; ask questions, knock on doors, and don't assume you have to figure this out alone tonight.