Homelessness may not be a visible issue in State College -- but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

A representative of a local housing crisis agency said poverty is present in the area and is becoming more common as the economy falters.

Annette Ratliff, program manager for State College's Housing Transitions Inc., said although many people believe homelessness results from laziness or drug and alcohol addiction, some Centre Region residents struggle with poverty as a result of Penn State students bringing down wages and raising standards for rent in the area.

"The people that live here may only make minimum wage, and rent is high in large part due to the university," Ratliff said. "You shouldn't be paying more than 30 percent of your income towards rent or ownership, but we find people making $8 an hour at your normal Sheetz job, and they can't make ends meet here."

One service the organization offers is its shelter, the Centre House Emergency Shelter, 217 E. Nittany Ave. A brick building much like the others on the street, the facility isn't meant to be pretty -- the staff's offices are crammed with mismatched furniture and extra beds for residents.

Although Centre House has not seen a drastic increase in occupancy since the economy's downward spiral, Ratliff said, the non-profit organization has been getting more calls about people being at risk of foreclosure. At the same time, they have seen a reduction in individual donations from $60,000 last year to $39,000 this year.

Despite this decreased funding, Centre House is planning to expand into its parking lot beginning next spring.

"We're very crunched in here," Community Relations Coordinator Erica Anderson said. "We want to be able to provide people with a sense of dignity and for them to be treated with respect, to have privacy and to serve more."

The State College metropolitan statistical area had a projected seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate of 5.9 percent in February, compared to a state average of 8.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. About 20 percent of all Centre County residents lived beneath the poverty line in 2005, according to the most recent available Census information -- and that was before the recession hit.

With the hope of helping individuals and families become more independent, Ratliff and other representatives from Housing Transitions provide side-by-side assistance to improve the situations of residents, financial and otherwise.

"If you have someone in recovery, we need to set up a support group. If you have someone with mental health issues, we need to get them in counseling. And if you have a single mom, we need to set up childcare," Centre House Manager Kendra Hicks said. "The case management is different for every single person."

Sitting in a small conference room with a futon that doubles as a bed, the three organizers agree giving someone housing without guidance isn't helpful. It sets people up for failure, they said, and does not address basic problems such as transportation.

Housing Transitions representatives said some people with financial troubles are unable to leave the Centre Region, despite low wages and high rent, because of their dependence on public transportation provided by the Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA).

"A lot of them need to be able to use public transportation, which largely means they need to live in State College," Hicks said. "We've had people walk here from Eat'n Park, McDonalds and Wal-Mart, and they've done it in rain, snow and extreme heat, and my concern is safety."

Even so, Ratliff said CATA doesn't have many buses that run to workforce and low-income housing, something she hopes will improve.

Anderson agreed, adding the problem of homelessness is slightly different in a rural setting than an urban setting. Although homeless people aren't seen on the streets, many sleep in cars, at camping sites, with friends or even at Penn State facilities, she said.

"I remember hearing stories about a particular person that would just move through particular buildings at Penn State," Anderson said. "The needs are here -- that's a reality. We're trying to fulfill the needs that exist and our goal in that is to improve the community for everyone."