H.O.M.E. Word – A blog from Project H.O.M.E.

Project H.O.M.E. recently struck gold – in the form of a major recognition for environmental sustainability.

Project H.O.M.E. co-founder and chief financial officer Joan McConnon accepted the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold award on October 11 at our Connelly House residence, the first LEED-certified affordable housing development in Center City.

The award was presented by the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, the local chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

“We are very proud to be recognized for our work in environmental sustainability.  We stand by our belief that everyone deserves a safe, healthy place to live,” said McConnon.  “We hope that this achievement inspires others that green affordable housing is not only a possibility, but it is necessary for moving our city forward.”

Opened in 2010, Connelly House received the American Institute of Architects Philadelphia Community Design Award and was certified by the U.S. Green Building Council for being an environmentally-friendly, sustainable building that includes a green roof, a rainwater collection system for irrigation and non-potable use, and highly insulated walls to improve thermal performance.

Connelly House—in partnership with Bethesda Project—provides critically needed, affordable housing to formerly homeless men and women. It is named in honor of John F. and Josephine C. Connelly, the founders of the Connelly Foundation, who created the charity to promote public welfare. The eight-story building
provides 79 units of permanent supportive housing.

This development contributes to Project H.O.M.E.’s mission of ending homeless in Philadelphia and the organization sees a commitment to environmental sustainability as an important piece of this mission.

“Green practices are especially important in those buildings that house vulnerable populations, such affordable and homeless housing,” said Joseph Healy, Chairman of the DVGBC. “We are thrilled to recognize Project H.O.M.E for their notable achievement in sustainability.” 

Come join Project H.O.M.E. for our first-ever Fall Harvest Festival!

Over the past year, we—residents, staff, volunteers, neighbors—have been hard at work gardening behind the St. Elizabeth’s Recovery Residence.  Our efforts have been rewarded with a bountiful harvest—bushels of tomatoes, eggplants, greens, and sweet and hot peppers. Now that the long, hot summer has suddenly given way to autumn, we can look forward to beautiful autumn crops like squash and prepare our gardens for the spring season.

“It has been wonderful to see our garden come to life and be able to share our harvest,” said Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Erika Slaymaker. "Not only does the garden provide the Project H.O.M.E. community and our neighbors with local, organic, tasty vegetables, it also brings people together. We are all learning together, I look forward to continuing to grow community in the garden!”

After all of our work in the garden, we want to celebrate!

The festival will be held on Saturday, November 3 from 12:00 to 4:00 P.M. along Berks Street between Croskey and Judson Streets. There will be great activities in the garden and all along Berks Street, including live music and an information-and-crafts fair. We hope to see Project H.O.M.E. community members as well as our neighbors and friends at the festival!

Would you like to get involved? Come join us—the more the merrier! We welcome contributions of fruit or baked goods to share. Are you excited about participating in sustainable vegetable growing to support our kitchens and our community? Join us in the garden this autumn or next spring—no experience needed.

Contact Julia Cooper (juliacooper@projecthome.org) or Erika Slaymaker (erikaslaymaker@projecthome.org) with any questions.

Julia Cooper is Project H.O.M.E.'s Philly Fellow for Environmental Sustainability.

On a recent Saturday morning, our neighbors in the Rowan/Judson section of the city walked to the signtuare gazebo on the grounds of the St. Elizabeth's Recovery Residence to do something that usually requires far more effort: buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

This accessibility to fresh produce and the existence of a farmer's market in North Central Philadelphia — a community located in a federal district recently named the second hungriest in the nation — has been a success thus far. "We are meeting our goal to serve healthy, affordable fresh fruits and vegetables to those who need them," said Michelle McFarland, a resident at our Rowan Judson residence who is working the farmer's market for her second consecutive year. The market is made possible by a partnership between Project H.O.M.E., Temple University's School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, and Fresh Grocer, and is the brainchild of Steve Korman, a staunch advocate for alleviating food scarcity in Philadelphia.

The market is just one aspect of the larger sustainability initiatives that we have incorporated into our 2011-2016 Strategic Plan. Project H.O.M.E. is committed to ensuring that "all developments reflect the shared values of economic, social and, to the greatest extent possible, environmental sustainability.”

By adhering to the United Nations' strict definition of sustainability as the ability "to meet “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs," one of our first steps has been to develop an Environmental Sustainability Plan, which has 8 main goals that fall under 3 categories: manage resources, reduce waste, and build community. 

We commit to examining the resources we use and bring into our organization, as well as the waste that we create. 

Finally, we know that the only way to be a more sustainable organization is to engage in this process as a whole community.

We have taken many first steps to do this, participating in neighborhood cleanups, changing our electricity supply to 100 percent renewable energy, expanding our gardens, building our new residences to be LEED-certified, participating in nutrition education, and more.

We know that there is much work to be done and we are excited to tackle the next steps of our work. We are creating committees that will take on different pieces of the Environmental Sustainability Plan, to help Project HOME define more specifically our goals for moving forward.

Here are a few sustainability resources with a local feel:

• Sustainable 19125: A sustainability project in Kensington.
• Mayor’s Office of Sustainability 
• The Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia: Great resource for low-income homeowners.
• Grid Magazine: A free, monthly print publication focused on sustainability issues and initiatives in the Greater Philadelphia area.

Erika Slaymaker is Project H.O.M.E.'s Environmental Sustainability Coordinator.