Germantown Settlement in Philadelphia, PA | Society and Culture | Pennsylvania Catalog

Germantown Settlement

The Settlement is a minority-controlled, community-based, comprehensive 501(c) 3 non-profit organization. The Settlement provides a wide range of services encompassing ten program areas: family support services, resident and neighborhood engagement services, housing development services, economic development services, workforce development services, housing and energy services, preventive health care services, aging services, youth services and educational services. All services are focused on rebuilding and supporting families and communities through modeling and support, case management, education, advocacy and service collaboration.
Enhancing the quality of life for more than 200,000 low-to-moderate income residents living within the Greater Germantown community, Germantown Settlement's Statement of Philosophy, Values and Mission is: To develop a community that is healthy and whole, to empower the residents of the Northwest Community, and to combat the problems of poverty. All of our work is aimed at meeting human services needs and committed to moving people towards self-reliance. Towards this end, the agency services over 15,000 individuals and families, from infants to seniors per year. In the settlement house tradition, Germantown Settlement is concerned with every aspect of family and community life, from infancy to old age.
For the past 123 years, the agency has been instrumental in providing services that help residents reduce and/or eradicate the barriers to self-sufficiency. Significant points of interest related to that history include:
- Assisted with establishment of communication linkages between the city of Germantown and its' sister city of Crefelt, Germany in 1888
- Formed the Working Peoples Aid Society in 1888
- Received organizational charter on April 28, 1890 and held first fund raiser in 1891
- Hired first social worker in 1922. Hired first interracial staff person in 1950
- Launched neighborhood services in 1924
- Transferred Sick Diet Kitchen Program to Germantown Hospital in 1926 and started Baby Clinic in 1927
- Set up satellite youth sites at the YWCA and local public schools and launched first Day Camp in 1936
- Formed neighborhood councils/initiated planning for the area's first subsidized housing project in 1940
- Launched advocacy and community organizing agendas which facilitated expansion into housing, job development, crime prevention and youth development programs in 1960
- Formed several non for profit organizations, including Germantown Homes, Inc and Germantown Settlement Homes, Inc in 1965
- Launched gang intervention and youth organizing efforts which evolved into formal services and led to the establishment of: Wister Morton Development Corporation and Brickyard Youth Council in 1970 and 1971
- Expanded into services for the elderly, initiating the Late Start Program, which led to establishment of aging services in 1972
- Established comprehensive youth programs including counseling and case management in 1978
- Launched voter education/registration strategies which led to the election of local leaders into public office
- Formed the Northwest Taskforce on Abandoned Housing in 1974 and initiated planning leading to the establishment of Greater Germantown Housing Development Corporation in 1976. GGHDC rehabilitated its' first house in 1978
- Co-sponsored the creation of the Germantown Community Council, the Greater Germantown Alliance, the Greater Germantown Appeal, and the Central Germantown Council in 1981 1985.
- Established the City of Philadelphia's first family center, (Central Germantown Family Center) in 1995
- Initiated planning to establish new public school options in 1998 which led to the establishment of the Germantown Settlement Charter School (serving 512 middle school students in 1999)
- Relocated into large retail center, 5538 Wayne Avenue, dedicated in honor of late Settlement family member Melvin R. Burgess, in 1999