PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia's Office of Homeless Services is trying a new approach to ending homelessness that goes beyond simply providing shelter, to helping with two basic needs that turn out to be among the biggest obstacles to permanent housing. The new program is called "Help for the Hurdles."
"There's so many stereotypes and myths about people experiencing homelessness," said OHS director Liz Hersh.
She thinks "Help for the Hurdles" could not only alleviate homelessness, but deal with some of those myths as well.
"They're lazy, that's a myth, that they don't want to help themselves, that's a myth," she said. "What we have found is that they have real obstacles."
Lack of income is the most prominent obstacle. "We know that if you don't have an income, you can't pay the rent and at least half of those in our system don't have any income so getting an income is critically important for them," she said.
However, as Hersh pointed out, if you become unemployed, housing is only part of what you can't afford.
"If you don’t have an income, how do you pay for transportation to get to work? It's a conundrum," she said.
The new program provides money for transportation, solving one obstacle to employment. It will also provide money for child care, another major obstacle for parents seeking employment so they can find permanent housing.
The office is primarily a shelter provider but it's working with First Step Staffing, an low barrier employment agency, and hopes to place 800 people in jobs that will allow them to move out of the shelter system.
"The goal is that people will be able to end their episode of homelessness," said Hersh, "get in the workforce and get housed, and really never return to homelessness."
The program will also provide coaching, support and financial literacy to help them succeed on the job. The budget is $1 million, provided by the federal CARES Act.