Now, on the eve of 2020, Chester County’s self-imposed mid-2021 deadline is looming, as communities across the country struggle with the entrenched problem. According to federal guidelines accepted by advocates, ending homelessness means it is “rare, brief, and non-recurring.” The city of Lancaster and Bergen County, N.J., are two of only four communities in the United States formally recognized by the federal government for ending chronic homelessness. Bergen County was the first in 2017, following its own 10-year campaign.