Project HOME

Project HOME
Name	Project HOME
Founder	Glennda Testone
Founded	1989
Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Focus	Homelessness, Affordable Housing, Social Services
Region served	Greater Philadelphia

Project HOME Project HOME is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing homelessness, poverty, and housing insecurity through housing development, employment programs, medical care, and advocacy. Founded in 1989, the organization operates in the context of local and national movements involving housing justice advocates, community development corporations, and social service providers. It engages with municipal institutions, philanthropic foundations, and legal advocates to create integrated service models and permanent supportive housing.

Overview and Mission

The mission emphasizes housing as a platform for stability, combined with supportive services and pathways to self-sufficiency. Project HOME situates its work among peers like Habitat for Humanity, Coalition for the Homeless (New York), National Alliance to End Homelessness, Corporation for Supportive Housing, and Philadelphia-based entities such as Mercy Neighborhood Ministries and People's Emergency Center. Its approach interconnects residential development, clinical services via partnerships with providers like Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, employment initiatives comparable to Goodwill Industries, and policy advocacy akin to efforts by Coalition on Human Needs and National Low Income Housing Coalition.

History and Development

Origins trace to grassroots activist networks and mutual-aid groups responding to visible homelessness during the late 1980s, contemporaneous with national debates involving the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and urban housing policy shifts under successive federal administrations. Early leaders convened community organizers, faith institutions including St. John the Evangelist Church and neighborhood associations, and labor allies such as Philadelphia AFL–CIO chapters to secure interim shelters and services. Over subsequent decades the organization developed permanent supportive housing projects in partnership with municipal planning agencies like the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and developers experienced with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.

Milestones include conversion of formerly vacant properties into mixed-use residences, collaborations with medical institutions to establish onsite health clinics, and formation of employment training programs that mirror models from The Doe Fund and Greyston Bakery. The organization navigated zoning disputes before bodies such as the Philadelphia Zoning Board and engaged in litigation and policy campaigns intersecting with cases argued in Pennsylvania courts and policy debates before the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

Programs and Services

Service delivery spans permanent supportive housing, emergency shelter referral, workforce development, and integrated health services. Housing projects provide units targeted to veterans, families, and individuals with chronic health conditions, aligning with federal programs under the Department of Veterans Affairs and standards from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Workforce initiatives include job-readiness training, social enterprise ventures inspired by models like Greyston Bakery and Year Up, and partnerships with community colleges such as Community College of Philadelphia for credentialing.

Clinical services involve collaborations with health systems and behavioral health providers including Penn Medicine, Temple University Health System, and community mental health clinics modeled after Federally Qualified Health Centers. Legal advocacy programs interface with civil legal services networks such as Community Legal Services of Philadelphia to address benefits, landlord-tenant disputes, and record expungement strategies similar to reforms advocated by ACLU affiliates.

Advocacy and Community Impact

Advocacy work targets local housing policy, tenant protections, and anti-displacement measures, engaging with coalitions like Philadelphia Neighborhood Preservation Coalition and statewide groups such as Pennsylvania Housing Alliance. Campaigns have addressed homeless encampment policies, supportive housing zoning, and municipal budget priorities reviewed by the Philadelphia City Council. Community impact includes neighborhood revitalization efforts resembling initiatives from LISC and community benefits negotiated with developers and institutions like Drexel University and University of Pennsylvania.

The organization contributes to public discourse through participation in task forces, testimony before legislative committees in Harrisburg, and convenings with civic leaders including representatives from the Office of the Mayor of Philadelphia. It also cultivates leadership among formerly homeless residents, echoing peer-advocacy frameworks seen in groups like National Coalition for the Homeless.

Funding and Partnerships

Funding streams combine philanthropy from regional foundations such as the William Penn Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, government grants from HUD and state agencies, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits allocated by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, and private donations from corporate partners and individual benefactors. Project-level capital financing has involved community development financial institutions such as Local Initiatives Support Corporation and tax-exempt bonds issued with municipal support.

Strategic partnerships span health systems, legal service providers, faith-based institutions, labor unions, and educational institutions including Temple University and University of Pennsylvania Health System. Collaborative projects have required coordination with municipal departments such as the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services and federal programs administered by HUD and the Veterans Health Administration.

Recognition and Criticisms

The organization has received awards and recognition from local civic groups, philanthropic bodies, and housing coalitions for innovative supportive housing and community engagement, in line with honors sometimes granted by entities like the Philadelphia Bar Association and regional planning awards from the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association. Academic evaluations and policy analyses by scholars at institutions such as University of Pennsylvania and Temple University have studied its models.

Criticisms have arisen around debates common to large nonprofits: land use and neighborhood change contested by community groups, funding allocation priorities scrutinized by watchdogs like Greater Philadelphia Nonprofit Network, and debates over the balance between short-term shelter provision and long-term affordable housing solutions raised by housing policy researchers at think tanks including the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution. Legal challenges and zoning appeals have occasionally engaged local courts and municipal boards.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Philadelphia