Coordinated Entry Housing Assessment From the Berks Coalition to End Homelessness
The Berks Coalition to End Homelessness runs Coordinated Entry, one assessment that measures what a person or family experiencing homelessness needs and refers them to the community resources that are the best fit, so you do not have to travel to every provider separately asking for help.
Coordinated Entry is part of a federal initiative to create a consistent, community-wide process. The assessment uses a standard, confidential tool that gauges vulnerability and helps prioritize people for program openings. Your information goes on a "Master List." When a unit or bed becomes available, the Coordinated Entry Manager sorts through the list and selects those with the most need and the best fit to be referred to that opening. Participating programs accept referrals from the system, and when they do not have enough space to accept everyone referred, people are prioritized based on need. You will be contacted as soon as a referral is ready.
The assessment takes about 15 minutes. The questions primarily have yes or no answers or can be answered in a few short words. You do not have to answer any question you are uncomfortable answering, but a non-answer could prolong your wait on the Master List. If you choose not to complete the assessment, you are still eligible for referral to services that do not use Coordinated Entry.
To get assessed, walk into BCEH Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 2pm, at 600 Penn St in Reading. The footer of the site gives the ZIP code as 19601 while the contact page lists 600 Penn St, Reading, PA 19602, Third Floor, so look for the third floor at that Penn Street address. You can also call 2-1-1, a free, accessible, 3-digit telephone number answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for health, housing and human services information.
These agencies are also available to assess for Coordinated Entry: - BCEH - Berks County Parole Office - Centro Hispano - Easy Does It - Hope Rescue Mission - Mary's Shelter - SafeBerks - SAM - BCC - Catholic Charities - Family Promise - Human Relations Commission - Opportunity House - Salvation Army - YMCA - TASC
Staying reachable matters. If you are selected for a referral but staff cannot locate or contact you, you will be removed from the Master List and the referral passes to the next person. Keep them updated with your most current contact information, or check in with them consistently. If you are removed, you can contact them to get connected again; before you are reinstated they will make sure all the information from your previous assessment is still accurate. If your circumstances have changed, you can ask for a new assessment, though some changes may raise your chances of a referral and others may lower them.
Staff are unable to tell you your position on the referral list. That position is influenced by a variety of factors and may move up and down within the course of a day. They will contact you as soon as an opportunity comes up.
The BCEH office number for general questions is (610) 372-7222, and the office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 3:30pm. Tracey York is the Coordinated Entry Manager and can be reached at 610-372-7222, ext. 203 or tracey@bceh.org. Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures are available upon request by emailing elise@bceh.org.
The page does not say whether the assessment costs anything, so ask when you go in or call.
Source: bceh.org/get-help/coordinated-entry, read September 18, 2026.
The details
In Berks Coalition to End Homelessness’s words
Coordinated Entry (CE) is part of a federal initiative to create a consistent, community-wide process to assess the vulnerabilities of a person or family experiencing homelessness and refer them to community resources that are the best fit to serve them. CE uses a standard, confidential tool that not only gages the vulnerabilities of the person or family but helps to prioritize them for program openings in our community. Information from this assessment is kept in a “Master List”; this…
Organization
Berks Coalition to End Homelessness
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This listing summarizes publicly available information from bceh.org/get-help/coordinated-entry. Last recorded review: September 18, 2026. Contact the provider to confirm eligibility, hours and availability before you go. If something here is wrong, tell us.