Our Mission

‘Proceed as the Way Opens’: To undertake a service or course of action without prior clarity about all the details but with confidence that divine guidance will make these apparent and assure an appropriate outcome.

1822:

• Founded on Quaker principles recognizing the inherent value of each individual in our society
• Quaker and African American women, led by Friend Ann Yarnall, provide a home for children who had lost their parents in the city of Philadelphia.
• 30-50 children each year received a home and schooling, many of whom were the children of individuals who had escaped enslavement

1915:

• Moved to Cheyney, Pennsylvania, and focused on providing education, training, mental health support, and most importantly, a home for girls and young women

1974-1984:

• Moved to the second floor of the YMCA building in the borough of West Chester, by the end of 1982 trend toward foster care, little need for shelter housing girls, shelter is empty
• Emergency shelter provided to a family, start of Emergency Family Shelter that continues today
• Foster Care program began with a request for care for special needs, older children
• Coatesville Project, a housing and drug & alcohol program in Oak Street Public Housing started
• Bridge Housing Program, assisting families transitioning from shelter started

1985-2010:

• Moved to Kesher Israel Synagogue providing shelter for 6 families
• Purchased apartment building on Chestnut Street to provide transitional housing for families
• Innovative Family to Family  Foster Care Program started in Coatesville keeping kids in their community of origin
• Providing Foster Care for 45-50 children and specialized adoption services

2010:

• Foster Care and Adoption programs transitioned to Children’s Home of York.   Our mission became focused on homelessness and housing instability.
• Aligned with Housing First  National Model, premised on evidence that a family experiencing homelessness is more responsive to interventions and social service supports if they are housed safely first.
• The Emergency Family Shelter was moved to Chestnut Street, allowing the agency to serve diverse family compositions; single parent, two-parent, multi-generational, and LGBTQ+ families, and to provide families with a way to continue a normal daily routine during the trauma of housing instability.

Today:

We continue to operate the only publicly funded, low barrier, Housing First Emergency Family Shelter in Chester County that keeps families together during one of the most difficult times of their lives.

Our Homelessness Prevention Programs combine targeted assistance and a collaborative approach that focuses on stable housing, financial independence, and resilience.

At Friends, we believe that it starts with a home and we are committed to walking alongside every family as they take the first steps on that journey.

In 2022 we celebrated the 200th Anniversary of Friends Association, providing Chester County individuals and families experiencing homelessness with opportunities to build family well-being.