I Am Project HOME: Christina Fidanza
Meet Christina Fidanza, the Interim Senior Vice President of Supportive Housing Operations at Project HOME. She oversees the functions of 17 residential sites that serve over 1,000 residents, many of whom have histories of chronic street homelessness, mental illness, substance use disorder, and trauma.
Christina has been working at Project HOME for over 15 years, starting as a case manager and then becoming a program manager, a director, and finally a VP (and interim SVP). She loves her job because she gets to witness the transformation of people’s lives every day. “I see people who come in with nothing, who have been on the streets for years, who have lost everything, and then they get a home, they get support, they get a community, and they start to rebuild their lives. They start to have hope, they start to have goals, they start to have dreams. And that’s amazing to see.”
A key responsibility in her role is to ensure that the staff at each site are well-trained, well-supported, and well-coordinated. Christina believes the staff are the backbone of the organization, and that they work hard to provide quality services and care for the residents. “We have a very diverse staff, with different backgrounds, different skills, different personalities, and they all bring something unique to the table. They are very passionate, very committed, very compassionate. They are the ones who make the magic happen.”
One of the innovations that Christina is proud of is the addition of two certified peer specialists to the staffing plan at Francis House of Peace, one of our newest residential sites at Project HOME. Certified peer specialists (CPS) are people who have lived experience of mental illness and/or substance use, and who have received training and certification to provide peer support to others who are in recovery. Christina explains how CPS staff have a very specific role that’s unlike other support staff, and they can offer a unique perspective with residents. “They can relate to the residents in a way that others can’t. They can share their own stories, their own struggles, their own successes. They can inspire the residents, they can motivate them, they can empower them. They can also help them navigate the system, access resources, and advocate for themselves.”
CPSs are part of a larger effort to implement a recovery-oriented approach to supportive housing, which emphasizes the strengths, preferences, and goals of each resident, and which supports them to achieve their full potential. Christina says this approach is aligned with the mission and vision of Project HOME, which is to end homelessness and poverty by providing opportunities for people to flourish. “We don’t just want to house people, we want to help them thrive. We want to help them find their purpose, their passion, their voice. We want to help them be part of the solution, not just the problem. We want to help them be Project Home.”
Christina began at Project HOME as a Director of Residential Services. She was responsible for overseeing the sites that offered recovery-oriented housing and services to residents who were struggling with substance use and co-occurring disorders. Although it was challenging, Christina found it rewarding because she handled complex issues such as relapse, overdose, medication-assisted treatment, harm reduction, and trauma-informed care. She learned a lot from the staff and the residents who were working hard to overcome their addiction and achieve their recovery goals. “I saw a lot of courage, a lot of resilience, a lot of hope. I saw people who were fighting for their lives, who were fighting for their families, who were fighting for their futures. I saw people who were supporting each other, who were holding each other accountable, who were celebrating each other’s successes. I saw people who were changing their lives for the better.”
Christina’s proudest moment at Project Home is not a single event, but a continuous process of building and nurturing a community of staff and residents who treat each other with respect, dignity, and compassion. “Overall, it’s the community here as a whole. When I first came to Project HOME, that was something that really stood out on my first day of orientation. Within the first month or so there was no clear differentiation between like staff and residents, everyone was treated the same, which was amazing.”
Christina is very grateful for the opportunity to work at Project HOME and takes pride in the work we do. She hopes to continue to serve and to lead with excellence, integrity, and humility. “I love Project HOME. It’s more than a job, it’s more than a career, it’s more than an organization. It’s a family, it’s a movement, it’s a mission. It’s a way of life.”
The Project HOME community is grateful to Christina, for being a leader and a role model for our community. She has shown us the power of trust, encouragement, and passion, and how people can transform lives. We appreciate her service and dedication to Project HOME.
