Mayor Nutter Visits Project HOME
Project HOME had a special visitor on the second day of the new year: Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.
Just hours earlier he had been speaking to a capacity crowd at the Academy of Music, delivering his second inaugural address. In that speech, the Mayor spoke eloquently of making Philadelphia a city that “will not leave anyone behind,” and developing policies for those citizens who were not experiencing economic progress. “We stand together,” he said. “Together as a block, as a community, as a neighborhood, and as a city. All working to make our city a better place. I see that togetherness almost every day as I travel to neighborhoods all across Philadelphia.” Then he said, “I’m going to see it this afternoon when I visit with Project HOME residents who are in our workforce development and job training programs, trying to build a better life for themselves and play a role in the future of this city." (To read his entire inaugural address, click here.)
True to his word, Mayor Nutter and some of his staff arrived at our 1515 Fairmount Avenue residents shortly after the speech. He met with several of our residents, as well as one of our youth program participants, all of whom are involved in employment and job training. He asked each of them about their situation and asked what they needed from the city to get good jobs. All of them stressed to the Mayor the importance of affordable and supportive housing as a key to getting and maintaining employment, and they talked about their desire to move from part-time to full-time employment.
The residents shared with the Mayor the particular ways Project HOME supported them in finding jobs, including the PECO Veterans internship program and the Philadelphia Alliance for Supportive Services to Veteran Families. The discussion also touched on areas of personal responsibility and community responsibility to help others as well. According to 1515 Fairmount resident Doug Sander, the meeting “went really well. I’ve met a lot of mayors, and I really think he is earnest, hard working, and very engaging, and I believe a lot of really good things can happen in the City of Philadelphia.” Before leaving, 1515 resident Julia Galetti gave the Mayor one of her original paintings and invited him to come to our next art opening.
