WHEREAS, The People’s Emergency Center (PEC) was founded in 1972 in West Philadelphia by Reverend James Hallam and Reverend Robert Edgar as a student service ministry to nurture families, strengthen neighborhoods, and drive change for families and couples experiencing homelessness; and
WHEREAS, During its first few years, PEC was run entirely by volunteers, and offered shelter, food and clothing to individuals and families on the weekends, when City-run family shelters were unavailable; and
WHEREAS, In 1986 PEC added case management to its offerings, and became formally focused on bettering outcomes for women and children; and
WHEREAS, As a response to the increase of family homelessness in the 1980s, PEC opened Gloria’s Place, allowing PEC to expand its shelter capacity to 80 women and children per night; and
WHEREAS, Since the 1980s, PEC has regularly collaborated with health institutions like the Public Health Management Corporation and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to provide medical assessments and services to mothers and children; and
WHEREAS, PEC has long been committed to ending homelessness through economic opportunity. Through programs like the Jobs Opportunities and Business Skills (JOBS) Program and the Center for Employment Training (CET), PEC had found employment for more than 1,500 people; and
WHEREAS, In 2016, PEC launched the Building Early Links for Learning (BELL) summit to raise awareness for the educational and socio-emotional needs of children experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia, and across the nation; and
WHEREAS, Since its founding, PEC has maintained its roots in West Philadelphia through investment, contributing more than $65 million to West Philadelphia’s built environment; and
WHEREAS, For decades, PEC has collaborated with agencies to educate and influence legislators regarding policies that affect families, children and youth experiencing homelessness, resulting in more than 235 operational affordable housing units, more than 3,000,000 healthy meals provided to families, and more than 2 million safe nights for more than 20,000 people; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Does hereby honor the People’s Emergency Center on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to the People’s Emergency Center, further evidencing the sincere respect and admiration of this legislative body.
End