PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A bank of filing cabinets lines a portion of a room at Broad Street Ministry in Center City.
It’s where mail and packages are kept for individuals with no addresses, including people who were formally incarcerated and those experiencing homelessness.
The initiative started more than a decade ago when someone who did not have an address asked Broad Street Ministry if they could get mail sent to the social service organization.
That one person’s request many years ago has now helped 5,000 others with no addresses receive mail and packages.
Fred Wise of South Jersey has been helping out at the mail service for a few years. He says a lot of people depend on it to get their benefits each month.
“We get really busy and we try to prioritize when that mail comes in right away so they can get access to it,” Wise said.
People also rely on the mailing service to establish residency, get identification, and search for employment.
“...If you think about putting a name and address on an application, whether it be for Social Security benefits or Medicare, things like that, if you don’t have an address you can’t fill out that application so it is really foundational support for individuals who wouldn’t otherwise have access to some of those resources,” said Larry Downey, corporate relations manager at Broad Street Ministry.
Broad Street Ministry says the number of people using the service has more than doubled since the pandemic and he thinks the main reason is because other organizations have done away with similar programs.
Volunteers assist those who are picking up mail Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. More information can be found here.