SnapGlow.TV: SoReFa (Socially Responsible Fashions) ShowHomeless and struggling with bipolar disorder, Frank Bradley felt that he could trust no one. But in 2003, he got involved with Project H.O.M.E.
Most empowering, Bradley recalled, was when the nonprofit organization asked him for ideas in designing the first environmentally friendly housing facility for about 70 homeless men and women suffering from psychological or substance-abuse issues.
"It was a unique experience," Bradley said yesterday, after a ceremony announcing the groundbreaking of the facility, St. John the Evangelist House, at 13th and Market streets, in Center City.
"They wanted to make certain that some prospective residents had some input."
The building will take about 18 months to complete, and Bradley - who now lives in Project H.O.M.E. housing at 12th and Chestnut streets - hopes to move into the new facility.
Rock superstar Jon Bon Jovi, a longtime advocate for the homeless, attended the groundbreaking yesterday, joining Sister Mary Scullion, executive director of Project H.O.M.E.; and representatives from the Bethesda Project homeless organization, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
"This is an issue that I don't need a scientist or a pill to cure," Bon Jovi said.
"It takes money and determination, and I can give both, and with great people in the world like Sister Mary, I take what I have to give and utilize that."
The eight-story, 63,000-square-foot building will have 79 single-resident units, a multipurpose room, a laundry room, an exercise room, offices for both Project H.O.M.E and the Bethesda Project, kitchens, a computer lab and other amenities, according to Don Billingsley, the project manager for St. John the Evangelist House.
Environmentally friendly aspects will include highly insulated walls and a rainwater-collection system, and 20 percent of the materials used to build the house will be from recycled content, Billingsley said.
Scullion said she's learned a lot about the meaning of home during her many years as executive director of Project H.O.M.E.
"As we break ground for this remarkable new residence, our hope, of course, is that this will be more than just housing," Scullion said. "It will be a home."
For Bradley, whether he eventually moves into the new facility isn't of great importance.
"Project H.O.M.E has a motto: Nobody is home until all of us are home," he said. "But in my mind, because of them, I'm already home."
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