Roots and Branches: Reflections from Sister Mary, Fall 2020
Wesley, a resident leader at Project HOME and a member of our Board of Trustees, recalls his time in prison and subsequent period of homelessness as “years of darkness wallowing in failure.” His worst prison, he says, was the mental prison in which he was trapped. Now, he looks back and is amazed at how much he has changed in his time at Project HOME – employment, public speaking, artistic endeavors, reunion with family, and a sense of personal security and pride.
For Wesley, like countless Project HOME residents and alumni, the numbers and stats don’t tell the whole story. It’s a story of coming home. When we are truly home, great things can happen.
Each of us has been affected by the COVID pandemic. Our friends and neighbors who are economically vulnerable are hardest hit, including some who are homeless or near-homeless, and struggling with poverty.
Even in ordinary times, millions of Americans are working hard and struggling every day to put food on their tables and keep a roof over their heads. During the pandemic, we have seen longer food lines and homeless encampments. Meanwhile, high rates of unemployment and small-business closings have been adding to the already high numbers of hungry and homeless in Philadelphia and the rest of the country. Affordable housing seems even more out of reach – yet more urgently needed than ever.
We are all yearning for the pandemic to ease and for the economy to bounce back, but we must seize the moment and work to create a stronger economy that ensures all people have real opportunities to thrive. As Wes and so many of our residents demonstrate, safe, secure, and affordable housing makes all the difference in people’s lives.
Nonprofits like Project HOME have been working on the ground for years to ease this housing crisis. But in this time of unprecedented hardship, nonprofits can’t be expected to carry the load alone. Back in 2008, the federal government found the funds to bail out financial institutions. The same kind of response is necessary now to partner with the nonprofit sector to provide the very basic necessities of housing and food that is so completely transformative. We need policies, programs, and resources that will prevent families from falling into homelessness and poverty during this pandemic and help them thrive when it is over. Substantive federal investment can transform the lives of individuals, families, and communities.
Our legislators in Washington D.C. must act with urgency. Many Congressional leaders have promoted bills such as the Heroes Act, which provides critically needed rental assistance and important increases in nutrition programs like SNAP. Another is HR2, a massive infrastructure bill designed to ensure that people have the jobs and income that can provide food and shelter. But these bills are stuck in the Senate. Congressman Dwight Evans from Philadelphia has introduced the Making Housing Matter Plan to provide short and long-term relief for renters and homeowners. We urge our supporters to contact their elected officials about these important legislative initiatives.
A crisis is a time when communities come together. Even in the midst of this painful economic episode, the United States has more than enough food, housing, and resources to prevent every citizen from being hungry, homeless, poor, lacking healthcare, or stuck in poor educational systems. When all of us, including local, state, and federal governments, play our part, we can put the nation and ourselves on the road to true economic healing.
