Ruth Williams House at the Gene & Marlene Epstein Building
Ruth Williams House at the Gene & Marlene Epstein Building provides 88 units of affordable housing to men and women who are homeless, formerly homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless—including young adults.
Residents of the supportive housing apartments at Ruth Williams House are linked to medical and behavioral health services and substance use treatment and recovery services, as needed. All residents are eligible to receive employment and education services through Project HOME’s Employment Services program.
The residence further expands our Young Adult Program, adding 20 apartments for young adults aged 18 to 23 at entry who have aged out of foster care and who are experiencing homelessness, have in the past, or are at risk of homelessness.
The program is a key component of our initiative to end and prevent homelessness, with research showing that vulnerable young adults are one of the largest and fastest-growing groups of homeless individuals.
We believe that with interventions to stabilize, educate, employ, and empower these young adults, we can prevent them from becoming chronically homeless in the future.
Additional Information
Continuum of Care | Permanent Supportive Housing
Nine fully-furnished efficiency apartments
- Documented current homelessness
- Documented current disability of serious mental illness
- Must be over age 18
- Demonstrated the ability to live independently, including monitoring medications; managing finances; cooking and cleaning; managing transportation; and other independent living skills
- Committed to recovery:
- Submission to random drug tests
- Engagement with appropriate supports (TCM services, OP/IOP programs, NA/AA, Peer Services)
Affordable Housing
79 efficiency apartments (20 designated for young adults)
- Income restrictions apply
- Some age restrictions apply
- On-site laundry
- Community space
Nine fully-furnished efficiency apartments
Referrals are made via the Homeless Services Clearinghouse CSS referral process. Individuals experiencing homelessness who have an approved CSS referral application will be considered for these vacancies.
79 efficiency apartments (20 designated for young adults)
Add your name to our waitlist. To check the status of an application please call 215-309-5222.
Nine fully-furnished efficiency apartments
30 percent of Income
79 efficiency apartments (20 designated for young adults)
Rent varies based on unit type
With a transformational leadership gift from Leigh and John Middleton, Project HOME created a public/private initiative to end and prevent chronic street homelessness in Philadelphia. MPOWER comprises visionary leaders who have joined with Leigh and John Middleton to ensure that together we realize this bold goal. Ruth Williams House is the fifth MPOWER project.
Since 2011, Project HOME and its community partners have created a new strategic and collaborative approach to provide housing, healthcare, education, and employment. Under Project HOME’s lead, MPOWER has identified the longest-term and most vulnerable people living on the streets and developed a comprehensive program of permanent housing (with services designed to break the cycle of homelessness) and also the necessary capacity to prevent chronic street homelessness in the future.
In addition, MPOWER will pilot evidence-based practices in drug- and alcohol-free housing coupled with employment, leading to greater economic independence for people struggling with addiction and chronic street homelessness. To prevent future homelessness, MPOWER will create new permanent supportive housing with strong education and employment opportunities targeted to youth aging out of foster care or who are experiencing homelessness.
The financial leverage and collaborative impact of MPOWER allows Project HOME to greatly expand its housing and services, including building six new residential programs with a total of 500 additional housing units – doubling overall housing capacity – and a new wellness center offering integrated health care services including primary, behavioral health, and dental care, together with wellness programs. Not only does MPOWER help Project HOME carry out its mission of ending homelessness, it generates economic and fiscal impacts throughout the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
On a daily basis, we witness the tremendous strength and courage of men and women who have overcome homelessness. And daily, we experience what happens when a community with a shared vision comes together – what Jon Bon Jovi calls “The Power of We.” Together, we can seize this opportunity and make the ambitious hope of ending chronic street homelessness in Philadelphia a reality. We invite every sector of society to join us in this hope – and help make Philadelphia the first major City in our nation to end and prevent chronic street homelessness.
None of us are home until all of us are home, and at Project HOME this means that we can all have a decent standard of living today without compromising our needs in the future. When thinking about the footprints – the waste, the greenhouse gases, the toxins – we leave behind through our daily living, we must recognize that the earth is our home.
This is why Project HOME has made sustainability a priority for current and future developments. Sustainability is based on a simple principle: everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. Thus, our goal is to ensure that all developments reflect the shared values of economic, social, and environmental sustainability by:
- Decreasing energy usage
- Constructing all new buildings to meet Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification guidelines
- Reducing fuel use of Project HOME vehicles
- Procuring more sustainable products
- Reducing waste
- Engaging Project HOME community members in sustainability efforts
- Supporting neighborhood sustainability
- Increasing access to healthy foods for residents and community members
Guided by these principles, we’ve taken sustainability from offices to residences, and even to gardens to promote energy and waste reduction, environmental education and justice, and health and wellness for all.
