About Us

My Place Germantown is a Pennsylvania not-for-profit with a mission to reduce homelessness in the Germantown section of Philadelphia by providing permanent supportive housing for disabled homeless individuals in a community-based setting.


Support Progression

Educator Mary Ellen Graham became involved in social work at an age when most people consider retirement. After volunteering at a homeless shelter, Graham was inspired to leave academia in order to serve the poor full-time. It was in 2007, while working as a case worker at St. Vincent DePaul’s health care center, that the specific difficulties her middle-aged male clients faced gave birth to the idea of My Place Germantown.

Graham believed the poor conditions her clients were living in undermined the health center’s work.   “When the housing isn’t stable, medical routines aren’t consistent.”  She made it her mission to create housing that would be an appropriate option for these hard-to-place individuals.

After sharing her dream with fellow parishioners at Germantown’s St. Vincent DePaul parish, Graham received an enthusiastic response. When St. Vincent’s decided to sell its convent dating from the 1860’s, and Community Ventures, a non-profit developer of low income housing agreed to partner as the developer, Graham was able to set about making the dream a reality. The location was perfect for her clients at the health care center who considered the neighborhood their home.

Germantown residents, however, were initially skeptical of the project and blocked the rezoning effort. Founding board member Tom Volkert, convinced of the value of the project to the community, agreed to chair a neighborhood advisory committee to involve and inform neighbors. Today, both MPG residents and neighbors have representation on the advisory committee.

In 2010, after a total renovation of the building, the first tenants began moving into the 12-unit residence. In order to qualify, each resident must meet two requirements: he must have a certifiable disability and have experienced a recent bout of homelessness. Two of the apartments are wheelchair-accessible while one has been retrofitted for the visually or hearing impaired. Each resident signs a lease and pays an affordable rent.  Although the residents live independently, they benefit from support services and the presence of around-the-clock staff.

In anticipation of Mary Ellen Graham’s retirement as Executive Director in 2015, a study was conducted to plan for the future of My Place Germantown. It was determined that forming a partnership with a larger organization with a compatible mission would be in the best interest of MPG. A service agreement was entered into with Horizon House to assume program and maintenance operations at the site, with the goal of eventual merger. MPG remains responsible for administering its HUD grant and raising the matching funds required by the grant.

MPG and Horizon House represent the best in human services and are both committed to constant assessment and improvement. This match for MPG promises to continue Graham’s original mission of providing affordable housing and support services to a vulnerable population in a small community-based setting.

Board of Directors:

President and Executive Director:
Jeffrey S. Williamson

Vice-President:
Joe Clay

Secretary:
Jack DiFeo

Treasurer:

Beth C. Hamlin

Emeritus Director:
Mary Ellen Graham

Directors:

  • Judy Christis
  • Joe Clay
  • Jack DiFeo
  • Stephanie Fedoroff
  • Mary Ellen Graham
  • Beth C. Hamlin
  • Kathy Lieberman
  • Peg Mc Fadden
  • Joan M. McGowan
  • Tom Stevens
  • Charles E. Washington Jr.
  • Tamika N. Washington, Esquire

Staff

Director of Homeless Services: Dwayna Durham
Program Manager: Andrene Grizzle

Resident Support Specialists
Samantha Scruggs • Gloria Massey

Events

Events

It’s time for the Annual FALL Flower Sale!

FallMumSalePhotos2022

Ordering Information

Help

MPG welcomes volunteers!

We welcome people who are interested in lending their talents to enhance the lives of our residents by teaching them about:

  • healthy eating
  • home maintenance
  • financial planning
  • horticulture
  • physical fitness
  • the arts

We also welcome help with office and maintenance tasks, such as:

  • writing acknowledgement letters
  • data entry
  • mailings
  • landscape maintenance

 

Finally, we welcome individuals or groups interested in developing community life:

  • community celebrations
  • service on the MPG Neighborhood Advisory Council
  • communication

To volunteer, please contact:
Jeffrey Williamson, Executive Director
js@myplacegermantown.org

Give

Your individual and corporate donations are crucial to our continued success!

MPG’s holistic approach to transitioning the disabled homeless into productive, healthy, self-sufficient lives is made possible by the generosity of the extended MPG community. Funds we receive go toward maintaining our 12-unit residence, providing supportive programming for the residents, and fulfilling our HUD matching requirement.

Your individual and corporate donations are crucial to our continued success!

  • My Place Germantown, Inc. is a non-profit 501-(c)(3) organization.
  • Donations are tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.
  • Donations may be sent to our postal address:
    My Place Germantown
    P.O. Box 12218
    Philadelphia PA 19144
  • MPG is on the United Way donor option list – number 45965.
  • Online through our Paypal link
  • Cash App: https://cash.app/$MyPlaceGermantown
  • Venmo: https://venmo.com/code?user_id=2616268960038912318
  • Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible Amazon Smile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. Use the link below to support My Place Germantown

 

Current Funding Partners:

  • Office of Housing and Urban Development
  • United Way
  • First Presbyterian Church of Germantown
  • Penn Cares

United Way LogoMPG is a United Way donor option– number 45965.


Thank you to all of our funding partners!

MPG also appreciates donations of:

  • household items
  • personal care products
  • men’s clothing
  • food items

Such items may be dropped off at MPG during regular business hours.

Donations may be made by check (payable to My Place Germantown) or by credit card via PayPal.
Use the DONATE button below to take you right into the My Place Germantown Paypal donation page.

URGENT HELP NEEDED

The 12 residents of My Place Germantown, who were high risk individuals when they first walked through our front door, are facing this same unknown. The challenges of the coronavirus pandemic has exposed them to even more vulnerability. Congregate living, as you know, presents challenges in the best of times, but now, our residents have been faced with a loss of jobs, compounded with the difficulty and isolation of social distancing. And the fear of what comes next. At a point in time when they are working to establish their independent footing, their journeys have become that much more difficult. 

While our normal fundraising activities have been able to support maintenance and upkeep on 209 E. Price Street, we, along with all other 501(c)(3) organizations, have been forced to curtail our spring and summer fundraising events, and there is a question mark next to our fall Trivia Night fundraiser. (We’ll keep you apprised as we get closer.)

Nevertheless, we are committed to ensuring the stability of My Place Germantown, our residents and our front line staff. But we need your help more than ever now to make that happen. Your donation will help to keep the residence in good condition, and, perhaps even more importantly, will help to support projects such as the residents’ vegetable garden to help overcome food insecurity.

Your continued support is needed now more than ever. We hope you will consider writing a check to MPG, or making a donation via credit card or PayPal 

My Place Germantown, Inc. is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. The official registration and financial information of My Place Germantown may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

Housing

Applications to My Place Germantown:

Applications to My Place Germantown come from:

  • The Street
  • City Outreach
  • Shelters
  • Transitional Housing

All resident applicants must be referred by the Philadelphia Office of Homeless Services. Applications must document recent homelessness and a certified disability.  The target population is individuals between 45 and 60 years of age, who have shown evidence of capacity to live independently.  Additional information on the application process is available by contacting Andrene Grizzle, Program Manager, at 215-848-2892.

The housing consists of 12 efficiency apartments with kitchenettes, full closets, and private baths in a renovated historic building.  Two units are wheelchair-accessible and a third is accessible for the hearing and/or visually impaired. Features include a spacious community room, laundry facilities, an exercise room, a front and a rear porch, and a large yard. Residents pay an affordable rent.

A Program Manager and three Resident Support Specialists provide support on-site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The staff assists residents in job placement, access to health care, and in making connections with resources in the Germantown neighborhood.

Face to Face: Dining Room, Health Clinic, Legal Services
St. Vincent’s: Learning Lab Literacy Program and Food Pantry
First Presbyterian Church of Germantown: Food Pantry,
Faith Chapel of Philadelphia ; Food Pantry
PA CareerLink Northwest: Career Counseling and Employment Services

News

My Place Germantown News

In October of 2015 My Place Germantown entered into a service agreement with Horizon House to assume program and maintenance operations at the site. This was the result of a year-long study to plan for the stability and future of My Place Germantown. So far the transition has been smooth and the staff and residents are very positive about its benefits. The connection has allowed staff to have more training and support. See the Annual Report and Newsletter links below for more information.

We are now part of an additional coalition – the Germantown Systemic Change Initiative – an umbrella organization set up to foster networking and collaboration among organizations in Germantown.

Contact

My Place Germantown

RESIDENCE | OFFICE

209 East Price Street
Philadelphia, PA 19144

MAILING ADDRESS

PO Box 12218
Philadelphia, PA 19144

PHONE

215-901-9795

FAX

215 | 848 | 1108

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jeffrey Williamson
js@myplacegermantown.org

PROGRAM MANAGER

Andrene Grizzle
Andrene.Grizzle@hhinc.org

Please indicate below if you have an alternate means of being contacted.