Commission on Economic Opportunity - Hazleton Site Office

CEO was incorporated in 1966 as a community action agency to alleviate poverty. This multi-service nonprofit organization is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of three constituencies with equal representation: consumers, public sector, and private sector. With its central office in the Heights neighborhood of Wilkes-Barre, CEO maintains site offices in downtown Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, Hazleton and Tunkhannock. Operating more than twenty programs with a staff that exceeds 200 full- and part-time employees, CEO in 2000 served more than twenty thousand individuals from some eight thousand households. Its annual budget, with revenues from multiple public and private funding sources, exceeds $10 million. CEO is a participating agency of the United Way of Wyoming Valley, United Way of Hazleton, and the Wyoming County United Fund. Several notable organizations serving low-income residents of Northeast Pennsylvania originated in CEO, which often serves as an "incubator," spinning off programs when they reach a point of organizational readiness. These include Luzerne County Head Start, the Child Development Council of NEPA, Rural Health Corporation of NEPA, and Maternal and Family Services of NEPA.

Housing (Comprehensive housing counseling services, Rent and security deposit assistance, Mortgage delinquency and default resolution, Landlord/tenant negotiation, Emergency housing referral assistance, Loan and grant program applications, Pre-purchase counseling, Post purchase counseling, Budget counseling); Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program; Case Management for the Homeless Program; Utility Customer Assistance (UGI Penn Natural Gas Partners Program Partners, UGI Low Income Self Help Program, UGI Utilities Operation Share Operation Share, PPL OnTrack, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Dollar Energy, UGI Penn Natural Gas Project Outreach Project Outreach)