Children, Youth, & Families

HAP is strongly committed to ending and preventing homelessness among children, youth, and families. We provide a holistic legal approach to overcoming the most formidable barriers our youth and families face, like disability, custody, and education. 

Related Services

SOAR

Whether you are a parent of a child with a disability, a youth aging out of DHS care and facing homelessness, or a parent seeking reunification with children in foster care, we have a special SOAR initiative designed to help link you with SSI benefits.

Get Help

Are you a young adult approaching discharge from DHS care, or a parent enrolled at Achieving Reunification Center (ARC)?  If your condition keeps you from working, DHS SOAR can help you obtain the SSI benefits you need. We can also help if your child has challenges due to physical, behavioral, or developmental problems.  

Please contact Laura Kolb at 215-523-9597 or [email protected] for more information.

 

Child Custody

Parents experiencing homelessness or housing instability face unique challenges in keeping their families together or reunifying with children once custody has been lost. HAP is committed to the welfare of every child in Philadelphia, and in preserving families throughout hardships. If you have a custody issue, we want to help.

Get Help

Are you are a parent/caregiver* with questions about custody including:

    • how to file or modify a current custody order?
    • how to prepare for a hearing?
    • your rights as a parent?

HAP can provide advice and information and, in some cases, attorney representation at hearings. Please contact Laura Kolb at 215-523-9597 or [email protected] for more information. 

If you have an open case in Dependency Court (DHS), contact CLS at https://clsphila.org/services/family/ for assistance.

Education

Education is a basic human right. Even so, hundreds of children in Philadelphia experiencing or at risk of homelessness face significant barriers in accessing adequate and appropriate education. Whatever the barrier, HAP is committed to helping.

Get Help

Did you know students experiencing homelessness have important rights under federal law? We can make sure your child gets the support they’re entitled to. If your child struggles with learning or behavioral issues, we can help you access special education services. Please contact Laura Kolb at 215-523-9597 or [email protected] for more information, or attend an upcoming clinic.

Children, Youth, & Families Project

Every year, upwards of six thousand children experience homelessness in Philadelphia, and that does not even include youth who are couch surfing and on the street. Although numbers have been, tragically, rising over the last decade, so has HAP’s response. See how we coordinated that response in our Children, Youth, and Families Project.
Learn More

Resources

Valley Youth House's Synergy Project

Street outreach for youth (24 and under), every Wednesday by the Paintbrush on N Broad.
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