Our organization is a faith-based, non-for-profit human service agency whose goal is to provide comprehensive services for those individuals seeking transitional housing, recovery from addiction and supportive services within the community-at-large.  The Executive Director, management and peer support personnel are professionals dedicated to improving the outcomes of individuals in transition who seek sober, safe and secure supportive housing opportunities.  Divine Light operates under the direction of a Single Administrative Officer.  The agency Program Supervisor and Consultant report to and are responsible to the Executive Director.   
 

Divine Light’s mission is to provide each participant with an opportunity to avoid homelessness, stabilize, find recovery and be responsible for that recovery, and to experience life in a safe setting that promotes growth and transition into a vested lifestyle of sustainable recovery.  In cooperation and collaboration with the community, other agencies and treatment providers we act as an affordable housing resource for Inpatient and Outpatient (treatment facilities) as well as for those individuals experiencing difficulty re-entering into the community from the criminal justice system.  Long term success is defined when single adults retain permanent housing and are entirely self-sufficient. Our goal is to impact the understanding of transitional living as a poverty-based issue by advocating and educating the public about the number of individuals needing shelter and services due to poverty.
 

We have been providing a dynamic ministry of service for the past ten (10) years to the homeless, at-risk and vulnerable male and female populations in the Philadelphia region in which dedicated volunteers have joined with committed staff to support individuals and families transitioning through temporary housing.  Divine Light’s current funding and financial support is derived solely from participant fees, fundraising and charitable donations.  The individuals we serve are provided with affordable housing, case management, drug & alcohol education, AA/NA support meetings and peer support.  We believe that alcoholism and drug dependence are debilitating, chronic diseases that are fatal when left untreated.  Our philosophy demands that individuals and dependent family members be carefully assessed to determine exactly what problems are present.  We specifically focus on those issues, which interfere with an individual’s ability to maintain sobriety. 
 

Our staff consists of human service para-professionals as well as credentialed and degreed personnel whose years of experience in providing recovery related services have made our project one of the most successful in Philadelphia.  The Executive Director has been providing supportive services to at-risk populations such senior citizens, adolescents, the homeless and the recovering person in the city of Philadelphia for fifteen (15) years.  Our project consultant is a Masters Level, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) who has worked in the field for over 25 years operating correctional facilities, transitional housing, treatment and mental health programs. A large majority of our staff are recovering persons themselves and average 15 years of recovery in 12 step programs.  We also employ persons who are not recovering and who have gained considerable.​

success in the field of addictions, religion and craftsmanship(s).   Each staff member contributes to the planning and implementation of our curriculum in order to provide a safe, nurturing, and engaging service environment.

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Divine Light has developed relationships and collaborations with a variety of supportive services throughout the city.  Referral agreements with medical centers, job placement agencies, Outpatient/Inpatient Treatment Facilities, Mental Health Consortiums and the community-at-large has enabled Divine Light to offer a dynamic continuum of care to all participants.

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The primary focus of the project is to support and/or assist in stabilizing individuals referred and support them in their efforts to access safe and secure living arrangements and acquire the skills they need to maintain a productive life. This is accomplished by the effectively linking participants with bi-cultural and bi-lingual services, mentoring them in their inclusion into the recovering community and address job readiness and job preparation.  The support staff at Divine Light are experienced and trained to provide such services [on-site] in an ethical, professional and cost effective manner.

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The literature states that, “resilience is the act of rebounding or springing back after being stretched or recovering strength, spirit, and good humor”.  In clinical terms "resilience" is reserved for unpredicted or markedly successful adaptations to negative life events, trauma, stress, and other forms of risk.  Many of the individuals involved in Divine Light’s mission and purpose are eyewitnesses to “resilience” having turned their lives around as a result of the recovery process and mentoring from others who have traveled that same road.

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Divine Light has developed and implemented a “continuum of care philosophy” at its residential facility that will empower participants to exert control over their lives and exercise the maximum level of self-determination.  The program assesses all admissions to the facility to ascertain community and family support within their first week of residence.  We believe that discharge planning begins the minute an individual enters our facility.  This case management process entails working with families and significant others to prepare individuals for ongoing recovery and recovery maintenance.  Divine Light utilizes a well-balanced faith-based mentoring program which gives individuals access to the support systems within their neighborhoods and communities.

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The program provides case management services to develop linkages with outside collaborating agencies and documents such services on individual service plans.  In cooperation with the participant and the referring agency, a service plan is jointly developed which is designed to incorporate the principles of recovery and address educational, vocational, permanent housing and life skills deficiencies. The service plan specifies measurable goals and objectives with realistic outcomes.  The plan is reviewed regularly focusing on efforts to obtain permanent housing and/or a stable long-term living situation that does not rely on the availability of Philadelphia Housing Authority Conventional and Section 8 units.