As an extension and virtual reimagination of our annual Excellence Awards, Inspiring Excellence shines spotlights on the small and mid-size businesses who have made a difference in our community during these unprecedented times. With input from the Excellence Awards Committee, the Chamber chose 10 organizations to recognize whose stories have inspired our members.
SELF, Inc., an emergency and temporary housing provider operating 24 hours/day, 365 days per year, is intent on keeping its participants and team members safe during business-as-usual and unforeseen circumstances. When the pandemic hit, SELF immediately required each of its site managers at its eight locations to create continuation of operations procedures (COOP) plans to track participants and team members experiencing COVID-19-related symptoms, monitor the cleaning of commonly used areas, and create and implement social distancing guidelines.
In addition, SELF made several recommendations to city leaders to ensure the safety of Philadelphia’s most vulnerable citizens. Among them:
- Recognize homeless team members as “essential personnel” and allow them to access restricted, COVID-19 testing sites.
- Open a separate space to quarantine participants who test COVID-19 positive.
- Place handwashing stations and water stations at places frequently visited by those experiencing homelessness.
- Open a separate site to house homeless individuals most at risk of catching COVID-19 (Black, elderly, and/or medically fragile).
- Provide COVID-19 tests for homeless individuals being removed from the airport before being placed in shelter.
- Provide screenings and temperature checks for all homeless intake referrals.
By working with other homeless providers, SELF sent a letter to Mayor Kenney to advocate for increased personal protective equipment for those experiencing homelessness and the team members who work with them, testing of asymptomatic individuals, and the creation of working groups to assist in resolving some of the issues faced by homeless service providers.
Strengthening and Empowering Lives and Futures, Inc. (SELF) was founded nearly 30 years ago by Dr. Sylvester Outley. At SELF, their mission is to motivate, empower, and inspire our community to live their best lives. With compassion at its core, their approach uses best practices and evidence-based programming to pave the way to personal transformation.
SELF, Inc’s initiatives helped establish Philadelphia’s emergency housing system and programming for the behaviorally challenged and substance dependent populations experiencing homelessness. Since its founding, they have helped hundreds of thousands of Philadelphians secure housing, transform their lives from dependency to independence, and embark on recovery from various social determinants of health. SELF is a non-profit agency that daily serves approximately 700 individuals experiencing homelessness.
Inspiring Excellence: Honoring the Resiliency of Small to Mid-Size Businesses
Check out the program book from the November 19 celebration to read not just the stories of our 10 honorees, but also those of the over 70 organizations who were nominated.
