Broad Street Ministry Staff
“Radical Hospitality is at the core of our values. Everyone who walks through our doors is treated with dignity and respect. There is a seat at our table for everyone, and everyone has something unique to offer to the community.”
Broad Street Ministry has occupied a unique place in Philadelphia since 2005. This is true in a physical sense: the ministry is housed in a formerly empty, century-old church building in the heart of Center City. More importantly, it’s true in a spiritual sense. The ministry staff are a dynamic, dedicated, and compassionate crew who look for creative solutions to individual and community problems. Broad Street Ministry welcomes all people, regardless of background or belief, race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, or socio-economic status. The goal is to provide a place of acceptance, support, and love. They try to ease the trauma and suffering caused by scarcity and discrimination. They strive to help each person find his or her path to mental, physical and spiritual wellness, and wholeness, too. To that end, they feed the hungry with nutritious and professionally prepared meals. They offer creative art programming. Coming together regularly, the team asks, ‘What went well today? What still needs to improve?’ Failure is felt to be an important part of the creative process, an opportunity to grow. They constantly look to refine their methods to provide the most hospitable services for any and all guests who walks through their door. In addition, they often send those guests out the door with clothing and toiletries, plus access to case management services, mail service, and medical care. Their main facility remains open throughout the coronavirus pandemic to provide takeout meals, personal care bags, and mail delivery for people who depend upon their services.
what big ideas have propelled your career?
“The concept of “Radical Hospitality” is at the core of our values. This means that everyone who walks through our doors is treated with dignity and respect. There is a seat at our table for everyone, and everyone has something unique to offer to the community.“
How does innovation influence your work?
“At BSM we believe that failure is an important part of the creative process and we embrace our failures as opportunities to grow. We build in ample time to come together as a team to ask: “What went well today? What still needs to improve?” We are constantly refining our methods to create the most hospitable services for our guests.”
Biography:
The staff of Broad Street Ministry are a dynamic crew of dedicated and compassionate problem-solvers. We strive to combine our various strengths to find creative solutions to each of the tasks set before us. As an organization we aim to foster community in the city of Philadelphia and we do this by creating a welcoming space for everyone.
Our doors are open to all and we welcome and affirm people of all races, religions, gender identities, sexual orientations, ethnicities, ages, and socio-economic statuses. Together as a community, we create a place of acceptance, support, and love while acknowledging that we all have a voice that deserves to be heard, and a life worthy of dignity and respect. And when our neighbors come through our doors, we strive to not only ease the trauma and suffering caused by scarcity and discrimination, but to help everyone find their path to mental, physical and spiritual wellness and wholeness. In addition to enjoying nutritious and professionally-prepared meals, our guests can access a variety of other life-stabilizing services delivered by our team and our partner organizations. This includes mail service, clothing, toiletries, case management services, art programming, and medical care to name a few.