Project HOME's Sister Mary Scullion and Donna Bullock

Come join us for an inspiring luncheon and discussion with Sister Mary Scullion and Donna Bullock, the past and current leaders respectively of Project HOME, a nationally recognized provider of supportive housing, employment, education and health care to enable chronically homeless and low-income persons to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty in Philadelphia.

This past summer, Bullock stepped down as a state Representative to take the leadership reins from Sister Mary, who co-founded the organization and led it for 35 years ago with Joan Dawson McConnon. Bullock and Scullion will give us their perspectives on the critically important work of Project HOME and other homeless providers in Philadelphia. What moved Bullock to take on the role? What led Sister Mary and the team to choose Donna? Will Project HOME change its strategy and functions?

Project HOME has grown from an emergency winter shelter to an indispensible institution providing more than 1,000 units of housing in 20 residences. It works with small businesses to hire formerly homeless persons. With the Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology Labs, Project HOME offers after-school enrichment opportunities for students, a college access program, and educational and occupational programming for adults. In 2015, Project HOME opened the Stephen Klein Wellness Center, a federally qualified health center (FQHC) that provides integrated health care including primary care, behavioral health, dental, a YMCA, Ph*rm*cy and wellness services.

Sister Mary joined the Sisters of Mercy at age 19, eventually working at Mercy Hospice women's shelter, which she has called "the most profound experience I ever had of God. There's no pretense. It's true. It's real." Scullion requested that her mandatory yearly retreat be spent on the streets of Philadelphia, instead of in the Sisters’ motherhouse. She spent the week as a homeless woman, sleeping wherever possible, utilizing public restrooms, and scrounging for food. Of her experience, Scullion said, “It was the hardest thing I ever did. [I returned] sick as a dog, really depleted.” But she learned first-hand what it meant to be homeless, and developed a sense of urgency to address the problem.

In 1988, Scullion met Joan Dawson McConnon, then a student at Drexel University who volunteered at Mercy Hospice. In 1989, the two women co-founded Project HOME. Their guiding vision became: "None of us are home until all of us are home."

Scullion’s work in the political arena is equally significant. Her efforts led to the right of homeless persons to vote and resulted in a landmark federal court decision on fair housing rights of persons with disabilities. Scullion believes that homeless policy should shift from managing homelessness via shelters and emergency services, to supporting permanent, affordable housing and job training programs. Scullion has been arrested for trespassing while providing food for those sheltering at 30th Street Station. She has crawled down manholes and into the "darkest alleys” to invite homeless individuals to shelters. Ed Rendell once called her "Philadelphia’s Joan of Arc ... because so many people want to burn her at the stake” for her aggressive advocacy. She has said: “Whatever affects one directly affects all of us indirectly. If there is homelessness in our society … we are all diminished.”

Donna Bullock is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives representing the 195th Legislative District, which includes parts of North Philadelphia and the Art Museum area. She held the seat from August 2015 to July 2024. Growing up, Bullock faced housing instability, moving from house to house before her mother secured a housing voucher. She earned her undergraduate degree in Administration of Justice from Rutgers and her Law degree from Temple's Beasley School of Law.

During her House tenure, Bullock served as Majority Chair of the House Children and Youth Committee and Ethics Committee as well as chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus. As a Representative, she supported working families through legislative initiatives that fund education, create jobs, and build healthy, sustainable communities. She is an advocate for equal pay, an increased minimum wage, clean energy and environmental justice, quality public schools and pre-k education, and sustainable community development. Before joining the House, Bullock worked as special assistant and attorney for the Philadelphia City Council President’s Office, and as an attorney at Community Legal Services and Laura Solomon & Associates.

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