PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Home Visiting & Public Housing: A Powerful Partnership PCHP has been reaching families living in public housing for decades, and has developed several types of effective partnerships with housing authorities: Housing authority as facilitator – Providing outreach opportunities and space for group sessions, but not financial or implementation support. Housing authority as model implementer – Staff trained in model to work with housing authority residents and Section 8 participants. Housing authority as ”purchaser” of a specific number of home visiting slots for families residing in public housing from local implementation partner. Housing authority as major funding partner for large-scale community implementation, reaching families living in public housing as well as other families in the community.

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Public Housing/PCHP Partnerships: Cradle to career supports for families, ensuring that families in all communities have access to quality early learning experiences, school readiness programming, and employment opportunities. Hiring home visiting staff from the neighborhood/public housing residents who know the community and are a cultural/linguistic match for the families they visit. Connecting families with other programming and building community – bringing resources into public housing and ensuring families have opportunities to explore their communities.

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority THE NEED IN PHILADELPHIA: Nearly one out of every two and a half children lives below the poverty line 50% of the adult population has low literacy levels 13.3% of the population is Latino with a growing Asian and other immigrant population Only two in five Philadelphia third graders meet state reading proficiency

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Partnering to Help Bridge the Gap: The GreenLight Fund Philadelphia selected PCHP as its 2016 portfolio program. GreenLight worked with PCHP to build exciting local partnerships with the Philadelphia Housing Authority(PHA) and Public Health Management Corporation. With these strong partnerships in place, PCHP designed a four-year expansion initiative that will reach 400 high-need, underserved, families annually by the end of the four years. PCHP launched two sites in Philadelphia in fall 2016 to work with approximately 100 families – 50 in the North Philadelphia in partnership with PHA and 50 immigrant, refugee, and/or English language learning families in South/Southwest Philadelphia.

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority The Philadelphia Housing Authority, also known as PHA, is the biggest landlord in Pennsylvania. PHA develops, acquires, leases and operates affordable housing for city residents with limited incomes. PHA’s funding comes primarily from the federal government. They also work in partnership with the city and state governments as well as private investors. PHA was established in 1937 and is the nation's fourth largest housing authority. They house nearly 80,000 people in the City of Philadelphia and employ 1,400 people to deliver services. Their annual budget totals approximately $400 million.

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority North Philadelphia 2016-2017 PCHP Cohort Demographics: # of families enrolled-55 93.48% were born in the U.S 97.83% African-American 2.17% Hispanic 100% English is the primary language 59.46% Public Housing 91.89% have household incomes of $25,000 or under $20,000-$25,000-8.11% $10,000-$20,00-18.92% Under $10,000-64.86% .

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority “No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship”- Dr. James Comer

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Think about the household in which you spent your childhood. Comment on the practices/attitudes in relation to the topics listed below. Reaction to crying Differences in treatment of boys and girls Toilet training practices Discipline Practices Who was the authority figure Talking openly about your feelings Importance of food How affection was expressed Behavior towards elders Importance of religion Adapted from the © WestEd Program for Infant Toddler Caregivers

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Ten Keys to Culturally Sensitive Child Care Developed by ©WestEd: The Program for Infant Toddler Caregivers

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Provide cultural consistency Work towards representative staffing Create small groups Use their home language Make environments relevant Having caregivers who are of the same culture and speak the same language as the children served is one way to provide culturally consistent care. Children and families benefit from relationships with caregivers that look and sound the way they do. Small groups allow for more meaningful relationship-building. Children benefit from being in environments that reflect their experiences so that they can build on the contexts they already have. When the caregiver reflects the culture of the child, the caregiver and the parent are more likely to have a shared vision for the child.

Uncover your own beliefs Be open to the perspectives of others Building Bridges: The Importance of Culture, Community and Collaborations Uncover your own beliefs Be open to the perspectives of others Seek out cultural and family information Clarifying values Negotiate cultural conflicts When you reflected on the activity a few minutes ago, you may have realized that some values and beliefs are ingrained from childhood. It’s important to be aware of those so that you can be open to other perspectives. It is important to communicate with families when there is a cultural difference in childrearing practices. Make a commitment to work together- collaborate There are often strong feelings that accompany cultural values.

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Successes: 80% Retention 90% of families applied for library cards for the first time Reaching multiple PHA housing programs Parents being promoted at work Parents starting their own businesses Informal Learning Initiative Partnership Read by 4th Initiative Father engagement

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Successes continued: Families feel a sense of pride knowing their landlord(PHA) wants to invest in their children Families take initiative to invest in themselves Program families spread a good word to neighbors about the program and PHA being a partner

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Success Stories

Building a trusted reputation in the community as a new program PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Challenges: Staffing Recruitment Building a trusted reputation in the community as a new program Childcare Centers

Finding and internal housing authority champion PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Strategies: Finding and internal housing authority champion Attending resident meetings Connecting w/ community leaders Identify community and political allies Persistence, persistence, persistence Find alignment with housing authority goals and initiatives Request a list of age eligible families Attend community events Communicate, communicate, communicate

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Best Practices in Building Inter-agency Collaborative Relationships: Maintain a learning stance Engage in authentic joint work Commit to open communication Build trust Be both task and relationship oriented

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Lessons Learned in Philadelphia: Understanding that all communities have their own culture Everyone defines collaboration differently The need for consistent, multi-level outreach The value of investment

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Video: PCHP Final 3.mp4

PCHP’s Work with the Philadelphia Housing Authority Presenters Contact Info: Malkia Singleton Ofori-Agyekum Pennsylvania Program Director msingleton@parent-child.org Anieka Mukhtar Site Coordinator, North Philadelphia amukhtar@phmc.org