Community Housing Program (CHP)

CHP is the heart of TAFSP’s homeless program. CHP works intensively with homeless families for a year or more as they develop their independent living skills and accumulate resources while living neighborhood based apartments and single family housing. The program began in 1992 as a 17 unit transitional housing program (scattered, leased housing) for large homeless families (3 or more children) under a contract with the City Office of Supportive Housing. While large families are a clear minority of the homeless families (less than 20%), the children in these families total a majority of homeless children, and large families have the greatest difficulties is securing permanent housing.

The core supportive service employed is intensive case management. The intensive case management includes weekly visits, psycho-social assessments and re-assessments, quarterly service plans, and coordination of services with other community providers. Families meet with a housing specialist to develop a permanent housing plan to ensure that they maintain their permanent housing unit.

Families also participate in TAFSP sponsored workshops that are designed to assist them in gaining a variety of useful skills, including drivers education, parenting skills, general education training for the GED, employment preparation services, life skills, computer training, and life coaching. Employment training workshops provide information on careers, work ethics, resume writing, computer applications, interviewing skills, dressing for success, job training resources, and employment resources.

The life skills curriculum provides training on self-esteem, physical health, family planning, nutrition, stress management, communication skills, conflict resolution, employment training, money management, home maintenance, home ownership, good citizenship, community resources, and etiquette. Life coach training is a workshop that provides segments on self esteem, values, ethnicity, spirituality, and free will vs. determinism. The life coach workshop also provides cognitive behavioral training: identifying the trauma, the ABC’s of emotions, rational questions, common mental mistakes, rational action planner, and the importance of practicing.

The Transitional Housing divisions of CHP has grown since 1992 to 33 units of neighborhood-based housing in West Philadelphia under two HUD McKinney SHP grant awards. The first grant in 1996 expanded the scattered site leasing program to 25 units (including 2 mobility handicapped modified units) and increased service levels. The second grant in 1999 grants funded the purchase and renovation of an 8 unit apartment building (including 1 highly modified handicapped unit) in the center of University City --- the Melville Way property (pictured here).

The CHP created a 10 unit, scattered-site supportive housing project in 2004 under a third HUD McKinney SHP grant award, the Chestnut Manor Project. Chestnut Manor was TAFSP’s first permanent housing project; it was designed for long term housing of medically disabled single adults and medically disabled adults with families. Persons who have become physically disabled as adults often have their medical care covered by government health care programs, but do not always have housing and social supports. Consequently, they become homeless and in need of permanent supportive living arrangements. The Chestnut Manor project provides permanent housing to 8 singles and 2 families. There are eight (8) single units and two (2) three bedroom units for families leased in West Philadelphia and Center City apartment buildings that are handicapped accessible/modified units. Supportive services include case management, home health care services, recreational services, and vocational and educational assistance. Chestnut Manor also provides an opportunity to facilitate a continuum of services for our families in transitional housing that have an adult member with a medical disability.

In February of 2010 TAFSP was awarded a second HUD McKinney SHP Permanent Supportive Housing grant enabling the Agency to implement the RSVP Project of 18 unit scattered-site supportive housing, the most recent addition to the Community Housing Program. The RSVP project provides permanent housing for chronically homeless families. These are chronically or repeatedly homeless families; they require supportive services and housing throughout the years of the rearing of their children. TAFSP is currently interviewing families for the 18 housing units, all in West Philadelphia (four 2-bedrooms, four 3-bedrooms, and four 4-bedrooms) near our program offices at the Kirkbride Center. Families in RSVP housing will be intensively case managed and attend monthly motivational meetings led by their case managers. The residents will also attend workshops on the following topics: money management, parenting skills, life skills, employment preparation training, stress management, and driver’s education. The children in the RSVP project will participate in the Student Enrichment Academy (see just below) as well as the summer camp services.