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Through the Family Stability Challenge, The Promise has invested $4.8 million – and growing – in community partners throughout Philadelphia to connect individuals and families to important economic security programs and public benefits. Connecting to these programs can support a person’s ability to access food, housing, healthcare, and financial counseling. As of August 2021, following a phased roll-out of services from March through July 2021, Family Stability Coalitions have been hard at work, serving community members, all while operating under significant challenges posed by COVID.

Our first look at our partners’ efforts are in and it’s encouraging – with more than 23,000 Philadelphians receiving Family Stability services representing all 48 zip codes of Philadelphia County. For the full report, visit here.

Alicia-Atkinson“We know that this is only the beginning of what is possible here,” says Alicia Atkinson, Managing Director of Financial Empowerment. “By starting by building the data infrastructure with our community partners, we can continue to learn moving forward. Who are we missing? What services are being utilized most by community? By providing real time data to practitioners and decision-makers, we can continue to make progress.”  

Supporting grassroots outreach and service-delivery is especially critical now as we gear up for the upcoming tax season. Over ninety percent of Philadelphia families with children are eligible to receive the Child Tax Credit – they just need to claim it. The City of Philadelphia estimates that if we work together to make sure everyone who is eligible claims their credits, 75,000 people in Philadelphia will move out of income-based poverty this year. That includes more than 46,000 children.

Shifting the conditions for communities experiencing poverty will not happen overnight, but this early data is a sign that efforts are moving in the right direction.

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