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

Mira is an alumna of Project HOME. Soft-spoken and always elegantly dressed, she frequently comes back to Project HOME to participate in alumni events, our speakers bureau, and advocacy efforts. On her recent visit, she shared some serious concerns: As she is following the media debate about gun violence, she is worried that the general public is getting a skewed view of mental illness.

The current debate on gun violence is of deep concern to us at Project HOME. The neighborhood where we do our community development work is all too familiar with the crisis of gun violence that has plagued so many Philadelphia neighborhoods. Gunfire is all too common, and shootings and killings are painfully recalled. The tragedy at the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, resonates agonizingly with this community, which has also had to bury its children.

So we care deeply about sensible policies that can help curb this crisis. We recognize that violence has many roots, including the lack of common-sense gun laws, but also the lack of adequate schooling and economic opportunity, which feeds into family breakdown, addictions, and desperate choices by young people. Throw in a culture rife with violent entertainment, which corrodes our moral sensibilities, and the persistent legacy of racism, which fuels anger and alienation in many young people, and you have a toxic brew – one that claims its victims. (You can read our 2007 statement on violence here.)

Clearly, Adam Lanza, the shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, had serious mental health struggles, as have some other perpetrators of gun violence.

But, as Mira pointed out, we cannot accept a linkage between gun violence and mental illness.

Speaking on WHYY’s “Radio Times” shortly after the Newtown shooting, Joseph Rogers of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania raised the following concern: “The push to link mental illness with violence only creates problems for persons with mental illness. It only scares people away from getting services and help that they need. It creates stigma, creates discrimination.” (You can listen to that interview here.)

Joseph is completely right. In a recent article in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the authors report that “the public’s negative attitudes toward persons with serious mental illness are exacerbated by news media accounts of mass shootings involving a shooter with mental illness.” They underscored research that showed that the majority of persons with serious mental health conditions are not violent, and that the relationship between serious mental health issues and gun violence is complex and influenced by factors such as substance use. They raise the concern that deepening prejudice against people with mental health conditions because of media coverage of gun violence could result in more obstacles to mental health treatment.

Harvey Rosenthal, executive director of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, who is himself in recovery from a mental illness, writes in a recent New York Times article, “The recent tragedies in Newtown and elsewhere are especially abhorrent to those of us in the mental health community, particularly since studies have shown that people with mental illness are 12 times more likely to be victims of violence, and no more likely to be violent, if they are not substance abusers. Nonetheless, horrific acts of violence are inevitably associated with mental illnesses, often because the motivations for them seem unfathomable, and they end up getting sensationalized front page coverage.”

The real narrative in terms of mental illness and violence, according to Temple University’s Mark Salzer (also speaking on “Radio Times”), is that persons with mental illnesses are far more often the victims than the perpetrators. Seventy percent of persons with mental health conditions have been victims of physical, emotional, and sexual violence. Meanwhile, another writer recently pointed out a key element in the current gun debate that is being grossly overlooked: the fact that there are nearly twice as many suicides by guns as there are homicides. So we must consider suicide prevention, which often has linkages to mental health conditions, as a key goal in our efforts to reduce gun violence.

Clearly, the real goal is greater access to effective mental health treatment. And if, in the wake of violent incidents, there can be increased public support for treatment, that is positive. But that call for treatment must not be predicated on myths that link mental health conditions and violence. We must not promote treatment for persons with mental illnesses out of a fear for public safety; our advocacy must be based on the humane understanding that anyone who is struggling deserves help, deserves to lead a whole and healthy life. Advocacy for treatment includes advocacy against discrimination and for the full dignity and humanity of persons who happen to have mental health issues.

“I didn’t want to have people with mental health situations categorized by the violence that is going on today,” Mira says. “People are so quick to say that these things are all because of people with mental illness, and use it as a basis of prejudice against people with mental illness who are trying to work through recovery in life.” She believes that the Project HOME community must play a constructive role in the public debate. We invite all of you to raise your voices, advocating for effective mental health treatment on the one hand, and advocating for policies that address gun violence on the other. And we also invite you to confront those myths and stereotypes, and assert what is at the heart of our mission and values: the dignity of each person. Let's support people in their recovery – and support society in its recovery from violence.

K. Earl left Philadelphia in 2000, running from a past that would eventually catch up with him.

After two stints in prison, K. Earl found himself back in Philadelphia, where he bounced in and out of halfway houses, shelters, bus stations, and the street, all the while hiding his duress from his family. 

“None of my family knew I was in a predicament,” he said. “They’d have been stressed and worried. Today they don’t think I’ve been through some of this stuff.”

Thankfully, those days are behind K. Earl as he transitions from the street to a new life. But before that could happen, he needed help. Enter the Hub of Hope, a winter (December to March) walk-in engagement center for persons living on the street.  Wrapping up its second consecutive season in the Two Penn Center subway concourse, the Hub is a partnership between Project HOME and many of the same agencies who made the project so successful last year, including: the City of Philadelphia, the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Jefferson University Hospital, Einstein Healthcare Network, Public Health Management Corporation, and SEPTA Police. The Hub exists as a place where individuals experiencing homelessness can see a case manager, talk to a peer specialist or recovery specialist, receive medical care, or just grab a cup of coffee and a moment’s peace.

When K. Earl walked into the Hub and explained his situation to case manager Kanika Stewart, he was given a “stabilization bed” at the Arch Street United Methodist Church (ASUMC) where the Student-Run Emergency Housing Unit of Philadelphia (SREHUP) staffs an all-volunteer, student-run housing unit in partnership with Project HOME. Two-and-a-half weeks later, K. Earl moved into a safe haven, a form of supportive housing that serves individuals experiencing chronic street homelessness.

Today, he is attending his mental health sessions regularly, is working with a lawyer to access benefits, and is getting connected to an Intensive Case Manager, who will walk with him during his next steps in obtaining permanent housing. And while K. Earl feels fortunate to have been so quickly connected to services, he also recognizes that he had to reach out.

“A friend of mine told me about [the Hub],” he said. “I came down here on a Monday.  It helped me out with my housing, helped me deal with my stress and my anxiety.

“I feel better,” he adds. “When I came here, y’all moved me real quick—it was God, too — but I took the steps.”

K. Earl is one of over 130 individuals that the Hub of Hope has helped connect to shelter, housing, and treatment programs around Philadelphia over the last three months. The Hub is open Monday through Friday from noon to 8 p.m., and during that time staffers have met with over 550 unique individuals in over 1,500 visits, while also administering to over 150 patients during the course of more than 300 health clinic visits. 

The Hub aims to deepen understanding of the needs of people sleeping in the Suburban Station concourse, provide consistent access to co-located physical and behavioral healthcare, and transition people experiencing long-term homelessness into permanent housing. And for the second year, this new approach to the crisis of street homelessness is having positive results.

As for K. Earl, he is already planning the next phase of his life.

“This place helped me out—I’m not even stressed, I’m great,” he said. “When I get housing I’m going to buy a waffle iron, blender, and deep fryer.” (K. Earl is a big fan of French fries and fried chicken.) 

“Most of the time I’ll be cooking on Sunday.”

Karen Orrick is the Project Coordinator for the Hub of Hope and Strategic Initiatives.

Employment can hold different meanings to different people. For some, it is the result of years of study and sacrifice, a realization of their ambition and dreams. Others may consider their jobs just that: a means by which they fund a lifestyle outside of work, whether it is to support a family or to finance an assortment of interests. Still others may perceive their employment as transitory, a mechanism to explore themselves and their place in the world.

At Project HOME, we consider employment a key pillar – joining housing, medical care, and education – in a structure of self-actualization and dignity that allows our community members to experience a deeper sense of recovery and personal meaning. This philosophy animates the programs and initiatives offered through Project HOME’s Employment Services department.

Our Daily Threads (ODT) thrift store, one of three social enterprises operated by Employment Services – the others being the HOME Page Café and Library Attendant Service, both located in the Central Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia.  These businesses actively exemplify the mission of Project HOME. Over the years, the store at 1515 Fairmount Avenue has grown from a primarily volunteer-run enterprise to one fully staffed by five hourly employees, all of whom are formerly homeless and using their experience to re-acclimate themselves to the working world.

“I have a place,” said Ocie Laurel, a sales associate at ODT for the last three years. “I have initiative to be about other things, being homeless for ten years; my work gives me another perspective when I have things that bother me from time to time.”

Picking up on Ocie’s point, while some of the responsibilities at Our Daily Threads may seem to typify the so-called “daily grind” aspect of workaday life – counting the register, pulling out racks of clothing, and arranging scarves along a makeshift display – it cannot compare to the grinding work folks like Ocie put in as they pulled themselves out of homelessness. And the perspective of which Ocie speaks is one born out from the experience of homelessness – and the knowledge that his work has enabled him to both transcend the heavy stigma of homelessness and take comfort in the sense of purpose that arises from meaningful occupation.

And the work is meaningful. For someone like C.B. Williams, an ODT sales associate for nearly five years, his position has supported his sustainable recovery by providing daily structure, direction, and transferable skills. Most importantly, C.B. now has a better sense of himself and his capabilities.

“I didn’t know I had the strength to go on here for five years,” he said.

…

Your donations to and patronage of Project HOME’s social businesses provide very important avenues of support to both Project HOME’s community members and the neighborhoods in which they are located.  You help to ensure our employees stay employed while also strengthening local businesses. So stop by the Café for a cup of coffee, or drop off a bag or two of gently-used clothing at ODT. Visit us online for more info on our social enterprises or our Employment Services department.

Jenna Bryant is the manager of the Our Daily Threads Thrift Store.

Two of our community members have been honored by the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund as heroes of LGBT Women's History Month.

Dionne Stallworth, a long-time resident of Connelly House, is considered “a pioneer in the LGBT movement,” and has long been active in political empowerment and health issues for transgendered persons.

Leigh Braden, program manager of our Kate’s Place residence, has developed many effective services and programs to meet the needs of homeless LGBTQI youth. 

You can read more about both of these amazing heroes here.  We are proud of them, and blessed that they are part of our community.

A sign of inspiration and encouragement to us:

The new pope, Pope Francis, has said that he wants the worldwide Catholic Church to be a poor church and a church “for the poor.”  Even the name he chose for his papacy is an important symbol:  Francis of Assisi is a revered figure who left a life of luxury to embrace poverty, simplicity, compassion, and peace for the poorest and weakest persons.  The notion that the Catholic church would fully embrace a mission of service and justice for our poor sisters and brothers around the world is a sign of great hope for us.

Meanwhile, on a more somber note, this is the reason we could use a church committed to those who are poor, and why we at Project HOME need to continue and deepen our work:

Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer carried a disturbing front page story about the high rate of “deep poverty” in the City of Philadelphia.  About 200,000 Philadelphians, or 12.9 percent of the city’s population, experience deep poverty, which is defined as income below half of the poverty line, or an annual salary of around $5,700 for a single person or $11,700 for a family of four.

It’s great to get students out of the class room every once in a while, especially to be recognized for their efforts.   On Friday January 18, a hand full of Teen Program students from the Honickman Learning Center attended the Philadelphia Youth Media Collaborative Media Slam.  (A media slam comes from the term poetry slam, which is an event where people get together and share their work amongst other artists and peers.)  

The Media Slam took place at WHYY studios in center city.  The  event was comprised of a variety of  video shorts and poems, including topics such as bullying, adulthood, loss of love ones,  the quality of public schools, comedic skits, and several other music related videos.   Inner Power Record students submitted their video, Forgive and Forget, which was one of the last videos to be showcased that evening.  Peers and artists voted for winners in three categories, which were Most Memorable, Most Moving, and Most Philly.  Inner Power Recording artist Terrell Williams was there to proudly receive the award for Most Philly!  Terrell did a fantastic job representing the Teen Program.  He answered a few questions about his creative process, what the song/video was about  and spoke about the collaborative process between Digital Music and Digital Film classes that was necessary in order to make Forgive and Forget a success. 

If you haven’t seen the video yet, please feel free to visit http://www.phillyyouthmedia.org/2013/02/02/slam-program-now-online/.  This link has all of the videos that were showcased that evening.  

Yesterday, National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" ran a moving and informative piece about the severe health issues faced by persons who experience chronic homelessness.  It's definitely worth a listen to better understand the struggles of our sisters and brothers on the streets

Studies show there are a growing number of homeless people around the age of 50. But it's common for them to experience illnesses and injuries more common among people well beyond their age. Host Michel Martin speaks with NPR correspondent, Pam Fessler and homeless advocate, Tony Simmons, about the rising number of aging homeless.

Listen to the report here.

Rev. Irving Jones of the Philadelphia Chapter of the NAACP read this poem at the 2012 Homeless Memorial Day service on December 19, 2012.

someone asked me

for some colors

for this day

in remembrance of those of us

who had gone

those of us who had been

victims of homelessness

many of us came to be homeless

in many ways

some thru drugs

some thru alcohol

some thru domestic violence

some were ruined

some displaced

some unemployed

some through crime

we came together from all

walks of life

even though we are beset

with problems

with AIDS/ HIV

with lack of education

racism

sexual assault

abuse both at home

and in the streets

the one thing that

binds us together

the one thing that

is the common meter

of human life

the one thing that

will light the candle

in the darkest of nights

the lights the colors that

we choose

be it

pink, blue, grey, green

purple or red or yellow

we will hold on to the beauty

of it

we will hold on to the horror

of it

we will endure it

without worshipping it

whether we look for

salvation from it

or accept it as the bitter

end

Death is something that happens to

us all

in this poem we cannot beg away

from death

we hope to provide a comforter

we hope to provide a blanket

to warm us from the cold of grief

and to provide relief

from the storm of life.

At a recent Potlatch at Project HOME, 11-year-old Thea Risher, daughter of staff member Will O'Brien, drew this picture:

Thea expresses the spirit of the Potlatch beautifully.  And you can share the Potlatch experience at our next one:  this Saturday, March 9, 1:00 p.m. at 1515 Faimount Avenue.  Join us for food, music, poetry, art, prizes, and general community fun.  Everybody is welcome, and talent is optional. 

We hope to see many of you there!

You can read more about the potlatch here.

On December 19, at the annual Philadelphia Homeless Memorial Day service, one of the persons who was being remembered was Roosevelt Darby.  Roosevelt , who passed away in 2012, was a long-time advocate, who used his own experience of homelessness as a fuel to empower others to overcome their struggles.  Dainette Mintz, the City of Philadelphia's Director of the Office of Supportive Housing, knew Roosevelt well and worked closely with him for many years.  At the Homeless Memorial Day service, she shared this beautiful remembrance of Roosevelt.

I am honored to remember Roosevelt Darby at this year’s Homeless Memorial Service. 

Roosevelt Darby