Families Forward Philadelphia
Leveraging Real Estate to Further the Mission
Families Forward Philadelphia (FFP), a nonprofit that provides housing and supportive services to families experiencing homelessness, engaged with ULI Philadelphia and the Homeless to Housed initiative to conduct a Technical Assistance Panel (TAP). The objective was to help FFP evaluate its current real estate portfolio and make recommendations to improve services and expand housing capacity. The TAP was held at the Kirkbride Center, which houses Families Forward Philadelphia’s headquarters and its 49th Street family shelter. Participants toured the shelter, including common spaces and individual rooms, then broke into smaller groups and conducted stakeholder interviews with leaders from local and national peer organizations, consultants, real estate investors, city agency representatives, local elected officials, internal staff, and board of trustee representatives.
A review of the TAP's findings and identification of common themes led to the development of a set of recommendations to improve the current housing stock and expand the capacity for housing and services for greater impact. Areas of focus included: a. Improving and expanding permanent existing supportive housing stock. b. Improving current emergency housing stock. c. Moving away from transitional housing. d. Amplifying the mission, serving more families, and broadening impact.
Report Summary: Families Forward Philadelphia (FFP), a nonprofit that provides housing and supportive services to families experiencing homelessness, engaged with ULI Philadelphia and the Homeless to Housed initiative to conduct a Technical Assistance Panel (TAP). The objective was to help FFP evaluate its current real estate portfolio and make recommendations to improve services and expand housing capacity. The TAP was held at the Kirkbride Center, which houses Families Forward Philadelphia’s headquarters and its 49th Street family shelter. Participants toured the shelter, including common spaces and individual rooms, then broke into smaller groups and conducted stakeholder interviews with leaders from local and national peer organizations, consultants, real estate investors, city agency representatives, local elected officials, internal staff, and board of trustee representatives.
A review of the TAP's findings and identification of common themes led to the development of a set of recommendations to improve the current housing stock and expand the capacity for housing and services for greater impact. Areas of focus included: a. Improving and expanding permanent existing supportive housing stock. b. Improving current emergency housing stock. c. Moving away from transitional housing. d. Amplifying the mission, serving more families, and broadening impact.