Commission On Economic Opportunity Of Luzerne County

Commission On Economic Opportunity Of Luzerne County, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, is a federal grant recipient delivering homeless services, veteran support, workforce development, and community antipoverty programs across Luzerne and Wyoming Counties. The organization operates exclusively as a prime recipient and sub-recipient on federal grants—no contracts or contract vehicles—and has received $57.4 million in combined obligated funding across 231 awards since 2006, with recent activity spanning fiscal years 2022 through 2026.

The bulk of the organization's federal footprint sits with HUD's Continuum of Care (CoC) Program (CFDA 14.267), which accounts for 153 awards to Commission as a prime recipient. Under CoC funding, Commission delivers five core program components: permanent supportive housing for persons with disabilities and rapid rehousing, transitional housing, supportive services only, Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) operations, and homelessness prevention activities. Representative CoC awards include a $338,036 project grant (October 1, 2025–September 30, 2026), a $225,068 grant (May 1–April 30, 2027), and a $288,225 grant (October 1, 2024–September 30, 2025). Commission also operates as a sub-recipient of CoC funding administered through state and local prime grantees, receiving allocations for rapid rehousing, emergency shelter, anti-poverty services, and employment training. The second major customer is the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has awarded Commission 15 grants under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program (CFDA 64.033). Recent VA SSVF awards include $1,346,272 (October 1, 2025–September 30, 2026) and $1,346,272 (October 1, 2025–September 30, 2026) for outreach, case management, VA benefits assistance, and temporary financial assistance for rental, utility, childcare, and moving costs to very low-income veteran families. Commission also received a $1,467,018 VA HVRP (Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program) grant (July 1, 2023–June 30, 2026) focused on job placement, employment training, and rehousing for homeless veterans. HUD's Assistant Secretary for Housing has awarded 7 additional grants, and the Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service has funded 5 awards. Across sub-recipient work, Commission administers Pennsylvania's Weatherization Assistance Program (under Pennsylvania Department of Human Services), Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) crisis component, The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) through state agriculture agencies, and Community Development Block Grant programs for anti-poverty and employment training. Commission also received a $250,000 Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service Community Facilities grant (September 27, 2022–September 27, 2024) for construction or improvement projects in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania.

The top five customer agencies account for 85 percent of recent awards, with HUD's Community Planning and Development office dominates by count (153 awards), followed by Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (16 awards), the VA (15 awards), HUD's Housing office (7 awards), and the Department of Labor (5 awards). The organization shows a declining activity trend—18 awards in 2022, 24 in 2023, 19 in 2024, 14 in 2025, and 6 in the first half of 2026—suggesting potential recompete risk. Eleven awards carry ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months, representing exposure in the recompete window. Commission operates 82 percent of its federal footprint as a prime recipient and 18 percent as a sub-recipient, demonstrating direct federal grant relationships rather than passthrough arrangements.