Bucks County Human Services Hub Moves to New Space in Admin Building

The Bucks County Human Services Hub earlier this month celebrated its grand reopening after moving to a larger, more accessible space within the County Administration Building.

After launching in 2021 as a single point of entry to the tangled web of social services, the Hub gradually expanded its offerings and has since outgrown its original home.

Now located next to the building’s Main Street entrance, the new Hub sports a warmer, more welcoming reception area, private meeting spaces and a dedicated food pantry named in memory of the late Christopher Cramp, a much-beloved colleague who served people experiencing food insecurity.

“It’s hard to believe that only five years ago the Hub, which now serves so many vulnerable people, was just one social worker with a desk phone and a computer,” said Commissioner Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia, LCSW. “Our Human Services team has accomplished so much in such a short time, and I just can’t wait to see what new great things the future holds.”

In its earliest days, the Hub served primarily as a conduit to partner agencies through which a “Resource Navigator” utilized their training as a social worker to match people in need with the services they required.

The Hub, now with four full-time employees, has since connected thousands to helpful resources, including services for seniors and for people experiencing food and housing insecurity. Over time, it became clear that the Hub could bring some services in house.

Twice a month, for example, the Hub hosts NAMI Bucks County staff in office to offer one-on-one peer support directly on site.

The Hub is also a COMPASS Community Partner, which means Hub staff can accept applications for some public benefits, shrinking the time it takes people to receive assistance. A similar partnership with Bucks County Housing Link allows staff to provide on-site intakes, referrals and navigation to hasten connections with housing resources.

And in the latest addition to services, the Hub’s newest hire will be working in the Bucks County Correctional Facility assisting inmates with the critical connections most needed in the first few months of re-entry in the community.

“Our Hub is about showing up in a responsive way with and for our community,” said Bucks County Human Services Director Rachael Neff. “The partnerships we have with so many dedicated agencies across the County make this critical work happen.”

The Hub has also stepped up to fill gaps in moments of crisis.

During last year’s lapse in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Hub distributed grocery store gift cards to people who were suddenly unable to put food on the table.

And not content merely to help humans, the Hub also stocks its food pantry with pet food and spearheads the Bucks Pets in Need Coalition. The coalition, known as BPIN, brings together animal welfare organizations and human services agencies to expand access to shelter, food and veterinary services for pets whose owners otherwise could not them.

BPIN last month hosted its first ever pop-up veterinary clinic in Warminster where 19 dogs and 29 cats received basic veterinary services including wellness exams, vaccinations, flea and tick prevention and deworming treatment.

Anyone in need of services is encouraged to call, email or simply walk into the Hub in its new office on the first floor of the Administration Building, 55 E. Court Street, Doylestown.

To talk to a Resource Navigator today, you can call 215-348-6201.