News / Events

Even as the city has made progress in the last year to find homes for hundreds of homeless families and individuals, the population of people living on Philadelphia's streets continues to rise.

A year ago, Mayor Nutter unveiled a plan for reducing homelessness, promising housing for 705 people.

To date, the city is three-fourths there. But the most recent homeless census - a regular, quarterly spot count - showed an increase in people living outdoors.

The census reported a spike in the Center City street population, but a decline in the number of people in shelters for individuals and families.

Volunteers and outreach staff for the nonprofit Project HOME who fanned out across the city on the night of May 20 counted 456 unsheltered people, including 392 in Center City. A year ago, there were 394 unsheltered individuals, with 261 in Center City.

"I am concerned about the number in Center City," said Donald Schwarz, a deputy mayor and health commissioner.

Schwarz said city officials are analyzing what the numbers mean: Are there more individuals who are homeless because of the economy? Or are more people drifting to the streets from shelters?

"The numbers don't have meaning until we drill down," Schwarz said.

He noted that while the street count was up, the shelter population was down.
The number of individuals living in shelters was 1,095 in the spring, compared with 1,163 in the same quarter last year. For families, there were 1,285 mothers and children in shelters, versus 1,333 last year.

"That's the good news," Schwarz said. "But why do we have a high number of people on the streets?"

Soon after taking office, Nutter proposed an $8 million initiative for reducing homelessness. The plan relied on tighter cooperation between the city and Philadelphia Housing Authority.

The city agreed to fund 205 new units of housing for people with mental illness or addictions who were chronically living on the streets or cycling in and out of shelters.
At the same time, PHA pledged to provide public housing or federal rent subsidies for an additional 500 families and individuals, mostly living in shelters or transitional housing.
Until then, the commitment from PHA to work with the city on homelessness had been intermittent.

"It is definitely a great partnership to have with them," said Dainette Mintz, director of the city's Office of Supportive Housing, which manages homeless services and special housing.

Mintz said both the city and PHA were approaching their housing goals and would announce tomorrow their plans for the coming year.

Of the units set aside for people with mental-health issues or addiction problems, 80 individuals have been placed in so-called safe havens that provide housing for people seeking treatment.

An additional 77 people on the streets have been approved for or placed in permanent housing with supportive services. Mintz said that last October, the city hired Pathways to Housing, a New York-based nonprofit agency, to handle outreach, housing placement, and services for up to 125 chronically homeless people with mental illness.

PHA, meanwhile, has given vouchers for rent subsidies to 175 individuals who are currently living in special residences. While not homeless, the tenants are ready to move into more independent housing, thus freeing up space for those in shelters or on the streets with mental-health or addiction needs, Mintz said.

PHA also is helping families to move more quickly out of shelters. Of a commitment to house 300 families in public housing, the authority so far has approved 191 families for homes across the city.

Melanie Grant, a 23-year-old mother of three, was one of them.

Last year, after losing her job and her house, she doubled up with friends before moving into a shelter run by the People's Emergency Center (PEC) in West Philadelphia.
While living at the shelter, Grant found work as a nursing assistant and picked up additional part-time jobs. Even with three jobs, she said, she didn't earn enough to afford a two-bedroom house for her family in a safe neighborhood.

Because of the mayor's homeless plan, PHA offered Grant a public-housing apartment in North Philadelphia. She moved out of the shelter last December.

"It's a lot of weight off my shoulders," Grant said. "It's one less thing to worry about."
For 17 months, Chynell Cox, 36, a single mother of four, was living in PEC's shelter or transitional housing. Last month, she, too, moved into public housing.
Cox, who receives public assistance, is looking for work as a telephone operator in customer service. She pays 30 percent of her monthly income to rent a three-bedroom PHA unit in Southwest Philadelphia.

"It would have been very, very hard to find some place on my own," Cox said. "It released me from shelter life."

Gloria Guard, president of PEC, said the nonprofit housing and services provider has placed 34 families in public housing through the mayor's initiative.

"We would love to double this number, of course, but we are thrilled that the system that is in place now runs and runs well," she said. "Without a consistent supply of safe, affordable housing, families would end up in homeless facilities for indeterminate periods of time."

This year, Philadelphia will spend $97 million of city, state, and federal funds on housing and services for homeless individuals and families.

Meanwhile, the federal government is adding $21.4 million in economic-recovery funds for programs to prevent homelessness. Those include such services as paying off delinquent utility bills or rent so a homeowner doesn't lose the house, or covering security deposits to move families out of shelters and into permanent housing.