BELL SUMMIT

PEC’s (virtual) Bell Summit to Support Equity for Families and Children Experiencing Homelessness.

87% of families served in the Philadelphia’s homeless housing system were African-American in 2021.*
54% of families served by Pennsylvania’s homeless housing system were African-American.
Children and youth experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity are more likely than their stably housed peers to experience risk factors that impact their long term health and well-being.

Join our conversation at 11AM on Tuesday, November 29th

PEC welcomes Dr. Iheoma Iruka as the keynote speaker. Framed through the Black Child National Agenda, this presentation elevates the cultural wealth of Black families and other families of color as they continue to deal with the global pandemic, systemic racism, and other inequities. To address systemic inequality, we must attend to child and family health support, economic stability, and upward mobility, as well as equitable access, experiences, and outcomes in early learning spaces for young children and their families. Participants will be asked to examine how they protect children and families from trauma and stress, promote their health, wealth, and educational excellence, and preserve their cultural identity and assets. Participants will examine how reaching equity requires interrogating and eradicating racism and other systemic inequities in the lives of children, families, and communities. The Black Child National Agenda will be centered in the presentation as an example of what it will take to ensure the transformation of policies and systems to work for marginalized communities.

The BELL Summit is on Tuesday, November 29, 11 AM to 1 PM.

Dr. Iruka’s presentation will be followed by a panel discussion. Panelists include:

Barbara Poppe, former Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. Ms. Poppe works to develop the capacity of communities and organizations to tackle complex issues through collaboration and a systems approach that achieves results and community impact. Ms. Poppe will share experiences of how the homeless system worked with the healthcare system to improve maternal health of families experiencing homelessness.
Sadie Sprague-Lott, Education Coordinator for Families Forward Philadelphia will discuss her experiences working with young children in shelter
Ms. Shante Brown, Acting Deputy Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning will share what the Commonwealth is doing to support young children experiencing homelessness.

Children Can’t Wait! The 2021 BELL Summit

BELL Summit Recomendations

The theme of this year’s summit was “Children Can’t Wait: How Pennsylvania Can Lead in Supporting Children Experiencing Homelessness.” The attendees were welcomed by Greg El, Chair of the People's Emergency Center (PEC) Board of Directors.

Roslyn Edwards, PEC's Early Learning Director, and Joe Willard, PEC VP of Policy, introduced and provided context for several topics for discussion.

Keynote speaker was John McLaughlin, Education Program Specialist with the United States Department of Education. In his capacity, Mr. McLaughlin oversees the national implementation of the McKinney-Vento homeless education system.

Omari Baye, PEC's BELL Manager, highlighted community partnerships with the Early Learning Champions announcement -- 43 staff at Philadelphia housing providers dedicated to the education of their agency's youngest residents.

VIEW PRESENTATION

Tracey Campanini, Deputy Secretary, Office of Child Development and Early, PA Department of Human Services, shared new policies and procedures that support young children experiencing homelessness.

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Donna Cooper, Executive Director of Children First, discussed K-12 education challenges, how American Rescue Plan should be deployed, and what policymakers need to do.

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Tracy Duarte, Director of the PA Head Start Collaboration Office talked about a new report of homeless children accessing Head Start across Commonwealth and new efforts to increase enrollments.