Services Expand For The Homeless Community Into Center City Train Station
By Pat Loeb
Philadelphia (CBS) – Philadelphia homeless advocates are trying a new approach to get the chronically homeless into shelter, this winter. They've set up shop in a storefront in the Suburban Station concourse.
The "Profiles Hair Design" sign is still over the door but the makeovers the new staff have in mind cover a lot more than appearance.
"Our hope is to get a majority of the people down here into some type of long term housing."
Paulina Vorn is an outreach worker for Project H.O.M.E., which moved into the former hair salon, underneath two Penn Center, last week. A census last spring found more than 200 people living in the concourse; often those most resistant to seeking help. So Vorn says help is coming to them.
"We have medical services, we have case management services."
Vorn says the storefront is still in its early stages and Project H.O.M.E. will be adding more services but, already, many concourse residents have heard about it.
Anthony Logan, homeless for 28 years, decided it was a good opportunity for him.
"It's something I was basically trying to find out anyway cause I have a birthday this year and I'm going to be 50 and this...I'm getting nothing out of it."
The storefront is open from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. every evening and 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. every morning.
