Honoring and celebrating Ready, Willing & Able for helping hundreds of men overcome poverty, addiction and crime to become productive, contributing members of our community and responsible fathers to their children in the City of Brotherly Love by providing resources to men such as a transitional housing, recovery services, life skills and living wage employment that promotes healthy households and responsible fatherhood.

WHEREAS, Ready, Willing & Able (RWA) is an organization dedicated to providing a hand up rather than a handout by assisting homeless men who demonstrate a commitment to becoming self-sufficient and living healthier lifestyles; and

WHEREAS, RWA was established by The Doe Fund with a mission to help the homeless lead independent, productive lives. RWA expanded programming to respond to the specific needs of difficult-to-employ populations, including recent parolees, homeless individuals living with HIV/AIDS, homeless veterans and low-income individuals and families; and

WHEREAS, RWA works with Philadelphians facing serious social and economic barriers: 100% are homeless, nearly 70% of RWA trainees have incarceration histories of 5 years or more, 96% have a history of drug or alcohol abuse and 36% do not have a high school diploma or a GED; and

WHEREAS, To solve homelessness for a night, you need shelter. To solve homelessness for good, you need work. Since RWA launched, it has used paid transitional work and a holistic, individualized service package to catapult hundreds of men over difficult social and economic barriers into the workforce and out of cycles of homelessness, crime and addiction; and

WHEREAS, RWA helps develop practical life skills in men by providing rehabilitative services, vocational training, adult basic education, social support services, including conflict resolution, parenting and financial management classes as well as life-long graduate services; and

WHEREAS, RWA combats recidivism and homelessness through career development classes, covering topics such as identification of occupational aptitudes and interests, job searching, resume preparation and interview skills. RWA provides occupational training opportunities such as commercial driving, culinary arts, energy efficient building maintenance, pest control, security and supervisor-in-training programs. Job readiness and placement services are available; and

WHEREAS, Driven by the simple premise that “work works,” RWA honors its trainees by providing a blue uniform during assigned hours that distinguishes them as a group of community members notably known as “The Men in Blue”; and

WHEREAS, RWA provided a great deal of service to its community when it assisted with the 4th District's District Day and its community clean-up; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it herby honors Ready, Willing & Able for its outstanding efforts helping hundreds of men overcome poverty, addiction and crime to become productive, contributing members of our community and responsible fathers to their children in the City of Brotherly Love by providing resources to men such as transitional housing, recovery services, life skills and living wage employment that promotes healthy households and responsible fatherhood; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution shall be presented to Jeffrey Stubbs, Director of Admissions, Tulsa Wills, Senior House Manager and Jason Miller, Program Director at Ready Willing & Able Philadelphia as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.

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