Friends Association has joined organizations across the country in recognizing National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week (Nov. 15-22) to promote education, action, and awareness about hunger and homelessness and to ask communities to join in efforts that prevent and end hunger and homelessness for all.

In Chester County, more than 75,000 people are at risk of food insecurity, and according to a Pennsylvania Department of Education report, in 2018, almost 1,300 children and youth experienced homelessness. Friends Association is at the forefront of local efforts focusing on families who experience homelessness or housing instability in partnership with the county’s 10-year plan to end homelessness, Decade to Doorways.

Friends believes that housing is a basic human right and that there is an inextricable link between systemic racism and homelessness. Friends is committed to serving families through direct service and also being part of the solution through action and advocacy to expand resources to correct injustices that will ensure that families can afford a good home.

A home adds to an individual’s quality of life through better health, greater educational attainment, and stronger earnings – all of which create a healthy community for us all. According to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, affordable housing enables families to spend nearly five times more on healthcare, a third more on food, and twice as much on savings.

While prevention programs that keep families safely housed are a top priority, Friends Association also runs the county’s only low-barrier Emergency Shelter for families with children. The organization received a boost this fall when they were notified of a $400,000 grant award from the Chester County Department of Community Development to renovate the Emergency Shelter and modify one of the units to become ADA accessible. The renovation project will use Trauma-Informed Architecture and Design, which has been shown to enhance the healing process for families and reduce the number of days spent in shelter.

This will be the first shelter in the state to use this design format, and the renovation will also provide the only ADA-accessible family unit in Chester County. Renovations will begin in 2021.

This year, community support is critical. Friends is witnessing a 30 percent increase in the need for services and expects that number to increase this winter. Below are a few ways you can be a part of the solution and provide the safety of home to families in our community:

• Buy tickets, raffles, or sponsor the West Chester Charity Ball on Dec. 5. This longstanding tradition provides support for Friends Association, and this year is offering a unique virtual event.
• Attend an online art benefit – “Stories of Home” – featuring more than 30 local artists. It runs from Nov. 22-29.
• Donate gift cards to support Friends Association families this holiday season.
• Donate to Friends Association’s annual appeal to directly support the work that the nonprofit is doing to prevent and end homelessness in the community.

Friends Association provides emergency shelter and programs to prevent homelessness for families with children in Chester County. Click here for more information or to support these initiatives.

You Might Also Like

West Chester Charity Ball’s Tradition of Giving Back During Holiday Season Reimagined for 2020

Friends Association to Establish Diversionary Reentry House for Women, Children in Coatesville

To Stem the Tide of Evictions, Friends Association to Pilot County’s First Eviction Prevention Court