Afternoon session: managing services to the homelss at Phila. Free Library

Joe McPeake, who manages the relationship between Project H.O.M.E. and the Free Library, is giving an overview of the project and the way in which it resolved a perceived problem with the homeless population using the Free Library main branch. Many urban libraries deal with the need to serve and manage homeless patrons, and use various approaches.

Problem at F.L.P. with "labeling" of patrons, which created a negative impact on FLPs services overall. A number of food and outreach programs use the FLP location as a service location. This contributed to an internal service problem with managing behaviors of certain groups of patrons.

One area in particular that was a focus for problems was inappropriate usage of the bathrooms at FLP. The problem could not be managed by the custodial and security staff working in the building. An existing relationship with Project H.O.M.E. was limited to encouraging patrons to seek homeless services, but did not address the bathroom and behavior problems.

From December 2006, the goal of the project was to secure a full-time attendant at the restrooms who could clean, manage behavior, hand out referral materials, and involve security services if necessary (Negotiations with Union Local 696 also had to be resolved, because the position could have been seen to have been replacing a position). Project H.O.M.E. trained and provided the attendant from its service population as part of its job-training programs.

Building on the success of the attendant program, FLP then discussed the possibility of installing a cafe on-site. They had not been able to find a vendor after a long search, and so in partnership with H.O.M.E., Bank of America, and Metropolitan Bakery the library managed to install a full-service cafe which not only provides a valuable community service but also improves the experience of all library users. The fact that the cafe is a sheltered employment program is deliberately kept very hidden- there have been 17 Project H.O.M.E. patrons placed in the cafe program, of whom 8 have gone on to other outside employment with the assistance of this stepping stone. The staff is comprised of a mix of non-program employees and H.O.M.E. clients, in order to provide an environment that is as comparable as possible to regular employment, and to provide the sheltered workers with a more diverse social experience.