Community Housing Program (CHP)

CHP is the heart of TAP's homeless programs. CHP works intensively with homeless families for a year or more as they develop their independent living skills and accumulate resources while living in 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. Family meet with a housing specialist to develop a permanent housing plan to ensure that they maintain their permanent housing unit.

Families also participate in TAP 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 SHP grant awards. One of these grants funded with purchase and renovation of an 8 units apartment building in the center of University City — the Melville Way property.

The CHP added a 10 unit, scattered-site supportive housing project in 2004 under a third HUD SHP grant award, the Chestnut Manor Project. Chestnut Manor is a permanent housing project for 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. 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.