Philadelphia, PA
- Center City District (CCD) launched an expanded adaptation of last years homeless outreach effort which helped more than 130 individuals get off the street and link up with needed services and local shelters.
Philadelphia Homeless Outreach Teams Return to Center City
Funded and launched by the CCD and implemented together with Project Home, the Philadelphia Police Department along with the city's Department of Behavioral Health, the 2018 program operated from April 23 to November 16. Teams of social service outreach workers from Project Home, CCD’s specially trained Community Service Representatives (CSRs) and members of the Police Department’s Homeless Service Detail worked collectively in teams five days a week.
In 2018 the teams connected with 40 homeless individuals and panhandlers a day. In 2019, the number of people helped each day should double, thus improving the likely success rate for individuals to move off the streets and receive help.
The outreach team members will be meeting weekly with the program administrators as well as local service providers to organize follow-ups for those who accept the placement and limit their return to the streets, as well as talk about strategies for reaching those who resistant receiving assistance.
