As temperatures dip, the stakes rise for one of Delco’s only family shelters
The family shelter in Brookhaven is facing imminent closure after a local church sold the building it operates in to the borough.
St. Joseph’s Family Hope Center in Brookhaven, Pa. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
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Saint Joseph’s Family Hope Center could be evicted as early as Oct. 31.
The Borough of Brookhaven is in the process of finalizing purchasing the property from Our Lady Of Charity Parish (OLC), the center’s current landlord.
Brookhaven officials informed the shelter Tuesday that they must leave by the month’s end. Family Hope Center is one of just two family shelters in Delaware County and has operated as the church’s tenant at 245 Upland Road for eight years.
“My concern is for the families themselves,” said James Roberts, executive director of Family Hope Center. “We’re not just talking about a building, we’re also talking about families with children.”
- St. Joseph’s Family Hope Center in Brookhaven, Pa. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
Speaking on behalf of his council colleagues and Mayor Denise Leslie, Brookhaven Council President Terry Heller said they are “disappointed and saddened” that the shelter must vacate.
“It was our intent to keep the center there after the borough acquired Our Lady of Charity property,” he said. “However, our solicitor — the solicitor serves as the attorney for the borough of Brookhaven — is adamant that the Pennsylvania Borough Code does not allow this type of facility to be operated by a municipality in the state of Pennsylvania.”
The center currently houses eight people, but has space for 18. It provides case management assistance to help residents find affordable housing and no cost trauma-informed counseling. County and federal grant assistance as well as community donations fund the operation.
Families tend to stay in the shelter anywhere from a few weeks to several months while they save up for stable housing. The shelter maintains a staff of seven full-time personnel with curfews and a handbook, which requires all adult residents to be employed and all children to be in school or daycare. Heller said the shelter has been a model tenant.
“We’ve never had one complaint about the center. We’ve never had any police activity at the center. We’ve never had any issues — it’s as if they aren’t even there,” Heller said.
Roberts said “any resource that disappears affects the whole system.” He fears without a shelter, the winter months could be grueling for the hundreds of Delaware County families facing homelessness.
“There might be some issues around class, race [and] economics that play into this, but at the bottom line, we are dealing with families who we don’t want to see in the street,” Roberts said.
Family Hope Center is asking the borough for a year extension to prove the shelter is a quality tenant.
“Sometimes residents will feel that they don’t want this kind of facility in their neighborhood,” said Robert Jordan, president of the board of Family Hope Center. “They feel it’s detrimental or it’s dangerous to their neighborhood. We’ve proven as neighbors for eight years that that’s not the case.”
Jordan believes attorneys involved on both sides of the acquisition don’t want the shelter to be in Brookhaven.
A spokesperson for the church said OLC plans on closing the agreement of sale at the beginning of 2025.
“Family Promise signed an agreement to vacate the property on or before October 31st and our understanding is that they are working earnestly toward that date,” the spokesperson said in an email to WHYY News. “We have had no indication to the contrary since Mr. Jordan informed us of the intent to move by phone message on [July 29] and signed the subsequent agreement on [Aug. 12] stating the same.”
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What is Saint Joseph’s Family Hope Center?
Saint Joseph’s Family Hope Center, formerly known as Family Promise, sprung out of the roots of the Interfaith Hospitality Network. In 2001, the Delaware County Interfaith Hospitality Network was formed. The program sought host congregations to provide temporary shelter to families experiencing homelessness.
Our Lady of Charity Parish in Brookhaven was one of the first host churches. The agreement allowed the organization to operate a day center from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The congregations would take turns providing families a place to stay overnight. The program debuted in 2007.
Over the years, the day center relocated several times before finding a more permanent home in the basement of OLC. Families, however, still rotated between congregations for overnight stays.
But in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused partner churches to prohibit overnight stays. Families began staying overnight at the day center at OLC. Despite lifted restrictions, that practice continued. However, Jordan said thoughts about the program have evolved.
“It’s been a source of consternation that their attitude has changed because our model has changed a little bit, but our dedication has remained strong,” Jordan said. “Our community support has remained strong and I’m a little surprised that the parish has not been more supportive of the program in the last two years.”
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Listen 1:06Building sale drives wedge into shelter operations
The church complex, where the center lives, includes a former school, several convent buildings and a field. Initially, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia had plans of paving over a portion of the complex, including the shelter, for commercial use. Brookhaven Council rejected those plans.
The council decided to buy the property in March, following a successful voter referendum.
Family Hope Center was aware of the pending sale. Attorneys representing OLC notified the shelter in May that they wouldn’t renew the lease.
“We were on the assumption that we would be free and clear to remain and contract with the borough on some short-term basis to continue our missions through 2025,” Jordan said.
Heller said things changed. Borough Solicitor John Jay Wills made the council aware in recent months that borough code might not allow a shelter to operate on their property.
On Monday, Jordan delivered a presentation to the borough council, making the case for the shelter to stay. But, the borough council arrived at a separate conclusion.
“It was finally hammered into our heads in executive session after this past Monday’s council meeting that there is no way that borough code permits this type of facility. The council and the mayor were obviously profoundly disappointed,” Heller said.
Wills did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment Wednesday.
“While we trust the solicitor’s opinion, we’re very disappointed that borough code does not permit it,” Heller said.
Family Hope Center has identified another location as a potential backup plan.
“If we can, we will help them relocate but I don’t, right now, see that we have a means or way of doing this, but we will try,” Heller said.
Jordan said the expense of moving has a toll. There are no guarantees.
A spokesperson for Delaware County told WHYY News in an emailed statement that the county is working to “ensure the relocation of the remaining families” before the scheduled closure.
“You would think that a religious organization would be more sympathetic to vulnerable families with children — but that appears not to have been the case,” Roberts said.
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