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In 1983, Gloria Guard didn't have any hands-on experience working with homeless families when she applied for a job running a shelter at a West Philadelphia church.

She got the job - and stayed for 26 years.

But Guard has announced that she will step down as president of the People's Emergency Center on July 1.

Guard has steered PEC's growth from a shelter for a half-dozen families to one of the city's largest nonprofit social services.

When she started working for PEC, the shelter rented space on the first floor of a now-defunct church and was open only on weekends. Guard had a staff of seven and a budget of $194,000.

Today, PEC has more than 90 employees and an operating budget of more than $6 million. The agency still works with homeless families, serving about 400 women and children a year in shelters and providing counseling for jobs, parenting skills, and home ownership. But over the years, it also has branched out, developing almost 200 units of affordable housing in Powelton, establishing 25 neighborhood businesses, clearing more than 100 abandoned lots, and repairing dozens of homes and storefronts.

At the helm of PEC, Guard was a relentless advocate, both in Philadelphia and Washington, for homeless families.

"She's really trying to upgrade the quality of life for low-income and homeless people," said City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who has worked closely with Guard and PEC. "What she sells is hope."

John Kromer, former director of Philadelphia's Office of Housing and Community Development, said that under Guard, PEC had helped to transform its home base in the Powelton section of West Philadelphia.

"PEC is not just about homelessness," Kromer said. "It's about bringing up the entire neighborhood."

Under Guard, PEC converted a derelict luggage factory at 39th and Spring Garden Streets into a family shelter. It then took vacant lots and built a playground.

From there, it restored a shuttered old-age home for men into 26 units of transitional housing for families, plus offices for PEC.

In an interview, Guard, 64, said she believed she had checked off everything on her to-do list for PEC. The latest item was opening an apartment house for older teens aging out of foster care.

"It's time to give someone else a chance who has new ideas and more energy," Guard said. She quipped that after two recent knee operations, "maybe my knees are telling me, 'You can't keep going.' "

Guard, who earned the Philadelphia Award in 2004, did policy work for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare before taking the shelter job. She has no definitive plans, she said, but added that in her next job, "I'd like to give away money instead of asking for it."

The nature of homelessness has changed while she's been working with families, Guard said. In the early years, a woman might need emergency shelter for six weeks. But with the spike in poverty, she said, stays can last from months to years.

During the last Bush administration, Guard said, more spending on homelessness was concentrated on individuals living on the streets than on families.

The atmosphere, she said, "was relentlessly antifamily," but has improved under the Obama administration.

Guard, who has two grown children and three grandchildren, said she was leaving when PEC was strong with its programs, board, staff, and finances. "I feel good about going now," she said.