Section I: Organization Information

Name/Title of Contact: Beth Palubinsky, Director of Development

Address: 1630 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146
  
Phone Number: 215-985-1600

Email Address: bpalubinsky@bethsdaproject.org  
  
Web Address:  www.bethesdaproject.org

Total Number of Staff Members: 120
  
Total Agency Budget: $4.3 million

Agency Mission:  The mission of Bethesda Project is to find and care for the abandoned
poor and to be family with those who have none.   We create communities in our shelters
and residences where homeless and formerly homeless men and women, relegated to the margins of our complex society, find sanctuary and their basic needs in the company of a loving, compassionate and caring family.    

Fellow’s Job Title: Community Life Assistant


Section II: The Nitty Gritty

1. Will fellow be working at the same address listed above? If not, please list the address
for the fellow’s worksite.

The Fellow will be based and will do some work at our main office, but the Fellow will also
work at all of our twelve shelters and residence sites, which are:

•        Bethesda Spruce at 1110 Spruce Street, permanent home to 16 formerly homeless
women who cope with chronic mental illness;
•        Bethesda Bainbridge at 700 South 15th Street, a permanent residence for 30 formerly
homeless men with histories of addiction or mental illness;
•        Bethesda North Broad at 722 North Broad Street, a permanent residence for 49
formerly homeless men and women with histories of addiction or mental illness;
•        Our Brothers’ Place at 907 Hamilton Street, an overnight shelter and day services
program where more than 200 homeless men come each day;
•        Bethesda Sanctuary at 816 South 20th Street, a transitional supportive housing
community for 16 formerly homeless men in recovery from addiction, many of whom also
suffer from chronic medical disabilities,
•        My Brother’s House at 609 South 15th Street, a “Safe Haven” residence for 20
homeless men with active chronic mental illnesses and substance abuse problems.
•        Domenic House at 1628 South Street and Mary House at 707 South Hicks Street,
home to 11 men and women with histories of chronic homelessness, mental illness and
substance abuse, who have attained a high level of self-sufficiency and stability; and
•        Bethesda’s Center City winter overnight shelter program, located in three churches
from November through April of each year, where 60 homeless men get meals and a safe
place to sleep.
•        315 South Café, a winter drop-in center for shelter-resistant men and women,
operated in conjunction with Broad Street Ministry

The Fellow will also travel to schools and colleges throughout the Philadelphia region to
make presentations about Bethesda Project’s homelessness work and to recruit and
orient volunteers.   Our current Fellow has worked closely with students and faculty at
Waldron-Mercy Academy, Bishop Eustace High School and Broad Street Ministry’s youth
initiative, to name just some of our partners, and  our 2008-09 Fellow will have similar
experiences.


2.  Will the fellow have:   

A. ___Own Office?             __X   Shared Office?            ____No Office?  

B. _X_Own Desk?               ____Shared Desk?              ____No Desk?

C. _X_Own Computer?       ____Shared Computer?      ____No Computer?


3. Please state name and title of fellow’s immediate supervisor.

Tony Medwid, Director of Community Life, tmedwid@bethesdaproject.org

4. Please approximate the percentage of time fellow will work:

60%  Independently      20%  As a team member in a group setting   

20%  As a team leader in a group setting

5. Will fellow be expected to travel as part of his/her position?

The Fellow will routinely travel to our 12 Center City locations and will also travel to city and
suburban locations of volunteer-related and other Bethesda Project events.  

If so, will travel be: _X_ Within Philadelphia?  _X_ Outside Philadelphia?

How often will they need to travel?

Will fellow need: ____a car?   ____a transpass? _X  occasional tokens?

Will the agency provide or reimburse for these expenses? Yes


Section III:  Community Need
Please submit a one paragraph response for each question.

1. Please state in measurable and quantifiable terms the specific community need that the Philly Fellow will address, including the number of people in the community directly
affected by the problem.  

According to estimates of Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency and Shelter Services, close to 27,000 different men, women and children used the City‘s shelter system in the past year, some for a day or two, some for months, some for longer periods.   The City’s
outreach team now counts more than 600 people living on the streets each day – an
increase of close to 100% over last year’s typical count.   Besides being poor, the
homeless present a complex array of physical and emotional health problems, financial
and legal challenges, and other service needs.  Here in the nation’s fifth largest city, a
surge of real estate development is changing the skyline; luxury condos with seven-figure
price tags are springing up every day.    But it is virtually impossible for an individual who
qualifies for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to pay the rent in or near Center City for a one-bedroom apartment, and for those weighed down by low incomes plus job loss, illness or addiction, the risk of becoming homeless rises sharply.   In the past year more than 2000 homeless adult men and women turned to Bethesda Project, where we address their housing and other needs in a coordinated and focused manner.   Yet, despite the best efforts of us and our partner agencies, everyone in the community of Philadelphia is directly affected by the problem of homelessness – not just the people Bethesda Project will shelter, house and serve in the coming year, but also every person who lives, works and travels in Philadelphia.

2. Describe how your agency addresses this need, and how the new capacity created by
this fellow will help alleviate the problem.

Central to the Bethesda Project’s mission and work of sheltering and housing the
homeless is the development of family-like ties among staff, residents, shelter guests and
volunteers.  In fact, the size, scope and commitment of our volunteer network distinguish
us from other local homeless services organizations.   Helping our shelter guests and
residents become part of our cohesive, productive family is essential to helping them
acquire confidence, self-esteem, physical and mental well-being, and stability.  So, besides putting roofs over their heads and food on their tables, we make our houses into homes notable for solidarity among the shelter guests and residents and their atmospheres of self-investment, mutual support and interdependence – and our volunteers are key to our success, because they create and sustain enduring relationships with and among residents.  Our  current Philly Fellow in turn plays a significant role in this, because she has responsibility for many of our volunteer-related functions (please see below).    Bringing a Year Three Philly Fellow into our Community Life Program will enable us to further expand our capacity to do the work of building community among the members of the Bethesda family and to gain knowledge and inform and educate others about how our society can interrupt the cycles of poverty, mental illness and addiction and reduce, or even eliminate, those root causes of homelessness by creating meaningful, lasting personal relationships between the homeless and volunteers.   

3. Describe the level of community involvement in the fellow’s project.

As our first Philly Fellow did, our Year Two Fellow has become a visible and effective
liaison between Bethesda Project and its partner organizations throughout the city.  
Our Year Three Philly Fellow will experience the same high level of community
involvement, in a number of forms.   More than 15 major local human service entities take
part in Bethesda programs and services, and the Fellow will have opportunities to interact
with them.   We have an active Board of Directors, whose 15 members come from major
area institutions, organizations and businesses and will support the Fellow’s work.   The
Fellow will be encouraged to develop new community relationships, too, as he/she
supports our mission of expanding our outreach to volunteers, educating them about
homelessness and our work, and fostering strong connections between volunteers and
our sites and programs.  The Fellow will facilitate the activities of The Community Life
Council, a representative body of shelter guests and residents who work with the Director
of Community Life and the Community Life Program Assistant to assess our community’s
needs and goals and to plan and implement activities aimed to achieve those goals.  


Section IV:  Job Description

1. Please outline in list form the fellow’s duties and responsibilities.

The Year Three Fellow will have two new responsibilities:

A. The Fellow will oversee new educational and public awareness initiatives.  Recently,
Bethesda Project has increased outreach to groups, including schools and faith
organizations that share our commitment to education about homelessness. The Year
Three Fellow will lead these partnerships and seek ways to enhance our educational
materials.  These may include:

•        coordinating the production of a new short film about Bethesda Project to serve as a
PR, training, and educational tool, working with staff to secure technical and human
resources and develop content;
•        expanding and updating a digital presentation about homelessness that was created
during the tenure of our Year One Fellow, Nora Spriggs, and has been the centerpiece of
community talks, volunteer orientations, and staff training;
•        finding new, innovative ways to engage community partners, including volunteers, in
education on the causes of and solutions to homelessness.

B.  In the spring, our current Fellow, Rebekah Rosenfeld, will spearhead the development of
Bethesda Project's first comprehensive electronic database for volunteer management.  
The Year Three Fellow will steward its integration into the day-to-day communications of
Bethesda Project, as it becomes a pillar of internal data management and facilitates
improved communication with our volunteers.

The Fellow will also have these ongoing duties and responsibilities:
•        conducting volunteer outreach activities and follow-up, including meetings,
presentations and events,
•        serving as primary point of contact between Bethesda Project and its volunteers,
•        planning and carrying out on- and off-site cultural, educational and recreational
activities for shelter guests and residents,
•        investigating avenues to civic engagement for shelter guests and residents through
participation in community-based activities such as voting drives, neighborhood watch or
community gardens,
•        leading the Community Life Council, evaluating its structure and operations and
proposing how to ensure its effective, representative resident leadership,
•        working with Director of Community Life to plan and present two yearly all-staff
retreats and the annual Community Life Council retreat,
•        gathering information on community resources and contacts for Community Life
programs,
•        managing the volunteer support system that is integrated with Community Life
Programs, and
•        training volunteers at the church-based shelters, including. volunteers at the Café.   

2. Please outline in list form the skills/qualifications a fellow should have to succeed in this
position.

The successful Fellow will have:

•        the ability to manage many tasks simultaneously and to solve problems quickly and
creatively without getting flustered,
•        an appreciation for and commitment to working with persons from diverse
socioeconomic backgrounds,
•        ability to work independently,
•        ability to contribute to collegial, team efforts,
•        strong oral and written communication skills,
•        a high degree of organization and accountability,
•        familiarity with Internet research and data analysis,
•        a good sense of humor,
•        strong computer skills, including MS Word, MS Excel and Outlook, and
•        a valid driver’s license.

3. Please outline your agency’s plan to orient and train the fellow.

The Fellow will be oriented and trained as follows.

•        Between April 2008, when placements are made, and the July 31, 2008 start date for the Fellowship, our Fellow will receive a packet of background information about Bethesda Project and homelessness in Philadelphia.   
•        During that time, we will facilitate opportunities for our current Fellow to speak, email
and meet with the incoming Fellow, as time and availability permit, to ensure a smooth
transition of information and tasks.
•        We will invite the incoming Fellow to attend Bethesda Project events that take place
during that time.
•        In the first week of the fellowship, the Fellow will have a full orientation conducted by
the Director of Community Life, with visits to all Bethesda shelters and residences,
introductions to staff, shelter guests and residents, meetings with the leadership team
(Executive Director, Director of Programs, Director of Development and Business
Manager), and a digital presentation on Bethesda’s history and activities.  
•        Through the fall of 2008, we will introduce the Fellow to key volunteers, including
members of our Board and volunteer committees.
•        During the course of the fellowship, the Fellow will be encouraged to take part in staff trainings on topics such as mental health, case management and drug and alcohol abuse, and he/she will participate in two all-staff retreats.


Section V:  Supervision/Resources

1. Please briefly describe plans for supervision of fellow.

The Director of Community Life will directly supervise the Fellow.   The Fellow will be
expected to work with a high degree of independence but will meet weekly with Director of Community Life to assess progress and adjust goals, as necessary.   Although other main office staff will have no direct supervisory role in the Fellow’s work, we encourage our Fellows to work closely with all administrative staff and to turn to them freely for ideas,
feedback and support.   We are a close-knit, highly collegial team and will welcome our
Year Three Fellow into our team.

2. What methods, information, or data will you use to evaluate the fellow’s success in their
position?

We will employ quantitative and qualitative methods to evaluate the Fellow’s success in
his/her position, including:
•        tracking the number and frequency of contacts the Fellow has with residents and
shelter guests,
•        tracking the number of Community Life activities the Fellow plans and implements,
•        tracking any changes in the level of shelter guests and residents in Community Life
programs,
•        tracking the number of volunteer outreach contacts the Fellow makes and changes in volunteer activism,
•        feedback from the Fellow’s supervisor and other key staff, including Bethesda’s
Executive Director and Director of Programs, both of whom will have frequent
opportunities to work with and observe the Fellow,
•        feedback from members of The Community Life Council, a representative body of
residents and shelter guests who work with the Community Life Director to plan and
evaluate Community Life programs,
•        feedback from key volunteers,
•        a mid-year informal evaluation by the Director of Community Life, and
•        the Fellow’s self-assessment.

Section VI: Project Plan
Please outline goals and results you expect the fellow to achieve and the measures you
will use to evaluate performance. These goals must address the community need stated
above.

1. Please describe the proposed project goal you expect the fellow to achieve.

By assisting with our ongoing efforts to expand and evaluate our Community Life program, with special emphasis on managing our volunteer activities, including recruitment, training and placement, the Fellow will increase our capacity in two main ways.  

1) The Fellow’s work will inform our understanding of the role that community-building
plays in intervening in the root causes of homelessness for Bethesda’s target population.

2)  The Fellow will help us gain a deeper understanding of the role that volunteers play in
this work, including how and why volunteers come to us, how best to prepare them for
their work with us, how to make successful volunteer placements, and the impact that
volunteerism has on our work with the homeless.

2. Please list significant milestones for this project and dates by which they will be
accomplished:

•        At the start of each quarter of the fellowship (roughly July 1, 2007, October 1, 2007,
January 1, 2008 and April 1, 2008), the Fellow will work with the Director of Community Life to project activities and goals for the upcoming quarter and an assessment of activities and achievements in the past quarter.
•        In September 2008, the Fellow will  assist the Director of Community Life in planning and facilitating Bethesda’s annual fall all-staff retreat, and he/she will make a brief presentation at the retreat about the fellowship, including his/her goals and strategies for the year.
•        In December 2008, the Fellow will present an outline of goals, activities and working
sessions for the upcoming annual Community Life Council retreat.
•        In January 2009, the Fellow will oversee the implementation of the Community Life
Council retreat and will co-facilitate the day-long event with the Director of Community Life.
•        In January 2009, the Fellow will present an outline for a directory of program and
activity resources for the Community Life Program.
•        In January 2009, the Director of Community Life will conduct an informal mid-year
assessment of the Fellow’s activities to date.  
•        In February 2009, the Fellow will present a written assessment of lessons learned
from the Community Life Council retreat and “best practices” emerging from the retreat.
•        In March 2009, the Fellow will report to the Director of Community Life on progress
with the integration of the volunteer database.
•        Throughout the early spring of 2009, the Fellow will work with the Director of
Community Life to plan the spring all-staff retreat, a five-day annual Bethesda event that
involves workshops, recreation and reflection.
•        In May 2009, at the annual all-staff retreat, the Fellow will make a presentation on
his/her experiences over the past ten months, offering reflections on his/her work and
recommendations for sustaining lessons learned and best practices for the Community
Life Program and our volunteer programs.
•        June 2009 – The Fellow will present a brief final written report to the Director of
Community Life on his/her experiences.