Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, celebrates year of success fighting homelessness with free hotel rooms
By Kim Hudson
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pennsylvania (KYW) — Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, recently celebrated the anniversary of a program that’s fighting homelessness with free hotel rooms.
Heather Kemps opened a door, knowing it was more than a hotel room for her. It was a space full of hope for her and her husband, Dave Zapalac, who was ill.
“My husband was in a wheelchair, and he was busting his butt to push himself in the wheelchair.”
Kemps said he did this while the couple was homeless.
“We couldn’t keep a place to live. We were living in a hotel paying for it from the skin of my teeth because my husband lost his benefits.”
That eventually drove the couple to a tent in the woods of Pottstown. But thanks to the Emergency Hotel Program, which opened in April 2025 through Opportunity House and the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, she found free shelter in a safe clean hotel.
“When we got in here, it calmed down,” she remembered. “And, it was good.”
The same was true for Michael Trump. The program even let him move in with his two dogs as he fought to get sober from a heroin addiction. However, Michael said staff gave much more than shelter.
“She took me to get a new ID in Reading, because my ID was expired and I needed a new ID, so she took me up there also.”
It all started with a Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting in January 2025.
“What we’re doing in Pottstown, is not just about housing,” said Commissioner Thomas DiBello.
He worked with board chair Jamila Winder and board member Neil Makhija on the nearly $2 million investment.
“We’ve probably had over 250 individuals that are either here now or have already come through this facility,” DiBello explained. “So, the program’s working.”
That success is bittersweet for Kemps. Her husband died after a stroke in August 2025. So in March, she moved on, alone, from the hotel. Still, she is finding peace in her new home.
“My family comes over and hangs out plays board games, and beats me,” she laughed.
Michael moved into a new home, too.
“And I’ll tell you what. A second room is a blessing,” he said. “I really appreciate everything they did for me here.”
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