An art show featuring work by young homeless mothers will take place this Sunday (May 15) at Indigo Bleu Design Collaborative, 3870 Lancaster Ave. The work displayed in this exhibit, titled Mothers and Others, is the result of a powerful partnership between People’s Emergency Center (PEC), which provides housing and social services for homeless moms and their children, and the Homeless Health Initiative (HHI) of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

HHI volunteers visit PEC’s Center for Parenting and Early Childhood Education several times each month. Led by an artist, these volunteer healthcare professionals bring not only the canvas, paint and brushes, they offer their time, encouragement and expertise. The young mothers experiencing homelessness feel empowered and excited for their first exhibit.

The reception for the exhibit will take place from 1 – 4 p.m. on Sunday. Proceeds from this event will benefit the artists and future creative expression programming at People’s Emergency Center. General admission tickets are $20 and can be purchased here.

Indigo Bleu Design Collaborative is one of the newest event spaces in West Philadelphia.  Continue Reading

Over the past 42 years, The People’s Emergency Center has served the West Powelton, Mantua, Belmont, Mill Creek and Saunders Park neighborhoods to provide comprehensive support services to homeless women and their children with temporary and permanent housing and services. The non-profit organization has invested over $57 million in quality-of-life improvements for West Philadelphia residents.

Kathy Desmond

The PEC board of directors appointed Kathy Desmond as the new president of the organization effective July 1. Desmond has been with People’s Emergency Center for two years but has previously served families in the area as CEO of BestNest for 14 years. She holds a Master of Social Work from Temple University. Desmond’s first order of business will include an analysis of where the organization stands and refining PEC’s strategic plan, to better serve the neighborhoods in the area.

We had the opportunity to speak with Desmond who shed light on what she intends to do in her new role.

– Do you have any ties to the areas that PEC serves?

I have worked for PEC for two years in several capacities in the social services department, focusing on serving mothers and children experiencing homelessness. In my previous role as CEO of Best Nest, a foster care support services agency, I did work with families in the neighborhoods served by PEC. I am excited to be in this new capacity at PEC, where I can impact all of PEC’s programs so that we can continue to nurture families, strengthen neighborhoods and drive change.

– How do you plan to improve services to the communities you serve?

PEC’s role in the community is to be an amplifier to the strengths and voices already present in Belmont, Mantua, Mill Creek, Saunders Park and West Powelton. PEC’s activities are currently guided by the resident-driven “Make Your Mark” neighborhood plan. We are particularly pleased that the planning process engaged and brought together the very diverse communities we serve, which we couldn’t have achieved with the leadership of the civic groups and residents in each of our neighborhoods, the creative implementation from Interface Studios, and financial support from Wells Fargo Regional Community Foundation.

Going forward, we are pledged to continue to work with our neighbors to build on the community’s assets and to amplify their voices to the institutions, agencies and market forces that impact where they live. As we develop PEC’s next strategic plan, our community development work will continue to respond to the issues raised in the “Make Your Mark” neighborhood plan, such as quality of life, education and increasing affordable housing stock. PEC’s work in these areas so far include the Bigham Leatherberry Wise Place development, the LISC-supported Financial Opportunities Center, and working with the Philadelphia Promise Zone collaborative.

Continue Reading

A large building project has just been completed in West Powelton. A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place Wednesday for Bigham Leatherberry Wise Place, a new affordable housing project, which includes eleven units. A vacant lot and an existing structure at 4226-32 Powelton Avenue were transformed into the homes, seven of which are for formerly homeless women with special needs and their children. The housing includes six two-bedroom and five three-bedroom units, two of them will be fully accessible to people with disabilities and one will be accessible to individuals with sensory impairments. Bigham Leatherberry Wise Place also features a courtyard containing a rain garden and a large rear yard.  Continue Reading

Winter holidays are approaching fast and a great way to get into the holiday spirit is by helping neighbors in need. If you would like to help out here are a few drives going on in the neighborhood.

• Rep. James Roebuck and Penn Nursing are teaming up again for the “Socks for Seniors” drive. Through Friday, Dec. 19, donate a new pair or pairs of socks by dropping them off at Roebuck’s office located at 4712 Baltimore Ave. Your donations will go to senior residents and local nursing facilities.

Roebuck is also hosting a free senior fair this Saturday, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., at the Calvary Community Center (48th and Baltimore, entrance on 48th). The fair will feature free health screenings and several nonprofit and for-profit exhibitors, and will also provide information on state and local resources for seniors. Refreshments and door prizes will also be available. For more information, please contact Roebuck’s office at 215-724-2227.

• Local 44, a neighborhood pub at 44th and Spruce, is holding a Toy and Personal Care Items Drive, also through Friday, Dec. 19. All donations will go to women and children at the People’s Emergency Center, a West Philly community center. Please note that only new and unwrapped toys or personal care items are accepted. Click here for a list of most needed items.

• The People’s Emergency Center (PEC) is holding a non-perishable food drive. If you have any unopened Thanksgiving canned goods, please consider donating them to PEC. Donations can be dropped off at Rowan House (325 N. 39th St), on Wednesday-Friday, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Check out the flier below for more information.

• We’d like to remind that Cedar Park Neighbors’ Holiday Food Basket Drive is also underway. A suggested donation is $36. This amount will help CPN and their partners feed two families. To donate to the CPN Holiday Basket Drive, click here.

Community Connector program volunteers. Photo courtesy of PEC.

There are a patchwork of community groups, improvement districts and major institutions trying to distribute news to their constituents in West Philadelphia, from fliers piled in the entranceway of a local church to email chains and Facebook pages.

Some of these efforts, such as the University City District’s (UCD) printed newsletter, have achieved widespread distribution and are commonly seen at coffee shops stacked next to the latest weekly newspapers.

But without the resources of the UCD, how can community groups get important news like road closings or information about available services out into the community?

The People’s Emergency Center (PEC) is experimenting with a model that enlists members of the community to distribute the news themselves.

PEC’s Community Connector program drops off informational materials on a bi-weekly basis to volunteers located in the neighborhoods of Belmont, Mantua, West Powelton, Saunders Park, Mill Creek and Powelton Village.

The volunteers then distribute the materials to every house within a four block radius of their home. Volunteers must also hand in a completed log sheet when new materials are delivered and are invited to attend monthly meetings.

“We believe that direct face-to-face interaction is one of the most effective methods for disseminating information and building credible relationships with a community,” said Cassandra Green, manager of community outreach and partnerships at PEC.

The idea for the program was pioneered by The Enterprise Center in the Walnut Hill neighborhood. PEC was able to replicate it through the support of the Philadelphia Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a local branch of the federal community development organization.

PEC was intent on figuring out a way to better get news out to the community because it wanted residents to know about its wide variety of programs addressing housing, unemployment, financial counseling and social services.

“Without knowing what assistance is available many residents who are eligible simply miss out,” Green said. “Information about these resources should be disseminated in the most direct way possible – through one-on-one human contact.”

For more information, contact Cassandra Green at 267-777-5893 or cgreen@pec-cares.org.

–Alex Vuocolo

West Philadelphia’s People’s Emergency Center is holding a school supply drive for current and new children who come to PEC throughout the school year. The following donations are accepted: school uniforms, children’s shoes and other clothing, school supplies, gift cards or monetary contributions. All donations are needed by September 5, 2013, delivered to 3902 Spring Garden Street. See the flyer below for more details.

For any additional information, please contact Meredith Pollock at: mpollock@pec-cares.org or 267-777-5829.