Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, celebrates year of success fighting homelessness with free hotel rooms

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," she said. 

Kemps said her husband 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," she said. 

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, no relation to President 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. The county, along with Opportunity House, helped Trump and others find supportive services addressing mental and physical health needs, job readiness, financial literacy and more. 

"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," Trump said. 

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," Commissioner Thomas DiBello said.

DiBello 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 said. "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 said with a laugh.

Trump 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."