Causes: Homeless & Housing, Homeless Centers, Homeless Shelters, Human Services

Mission:
People Serving People''s Mission: To serve homeless children and their families and provide new opportunities for healthy, stable family life.

Results: An average of 319 individuals called PSP home every day in 2009, and the number has continued to grow this year. To meet this great need in the community, three full time Family Advocates joined the Family Support Services staff, PSP's Early Childhood Development Center added a new Preschool Prep classroom and we launched a school readiness skills workshop, two new Employment Specialists joined the Employment Services staff to help our guests find work, and we updated the PSP Technology Center to enable homeless families to bridge the digital divide both during and after their stay with us.

Target demographics: Homeless families: our guests are children under the age of 18 and their caregivers.

Direct beneficiaries per year: 2534 in 2009

Programs: People Serving People operates several programs for guests of all ages in the facility. PSP's Children's Services include the Children's Development Center with quality care and school readiness curriculum for ages 6 weeks to 5 years, Tutoring and Homework Club for ages K-teens, and Education and Activities programming providing educational and recreational activities for children, as well as for families. The purpose of Children's Services programming is to provide a positive, cooperative, and healthy environment for children and families that will encourage positive social interaction and learning. In 2007, the Family & Children's Program served over 3,000 children and parents. PSP's Community Integrated Services program includes the Family Advocate Program, which started in 1999.The Family Advocate Program helps families in residence to identify and address the barriers they face in their efforts to finding and securing permanent, affordable housing and economic stability. Guests have access to personal counseling, goal planning, referrals to service providers, and collaborative efforts with related social service agencies on-site. All incoming families to PSP meet with a Family Advocate within 48 hours of checking in and are oriented to programs available such as Employment Assistance, the Technology Center for job and apartment searches and personal computing, and Workforce Development Training as well as Children's Services. Families complete an Outcome Questionnaire at the end of their stay to assess success and program effectiveness.