CEO Chris Simiriglia nominated for Social Innovations Award

We're thrilled that our CEO, Chris Simiriglia, is a finalist for the Social Innovations Journal Housing & Community Development award this year.

If you'd like to vote for Chris so that she will be properly recognized for her many accomplishments, please click here to vote (open 11/5 to 11/11).

Chris was nominated for the award because she is a true innovator. She founded Pathways to Housing PA in 2008, bringing the Housing First model to Philadelphia to help individuals with disabilities who experienced chronic homelessness. Chris saw the need, found the solution, and made it happen.

In 2014, Chris grew tired of the constant complaint in the housing community that we don’t have a furniture bank. She put together a budget, found funding, and opened the Philadelphia Furniture Bank. We just furnished our 2,000th home, a milestone achieved in less than four years of operations.

In late 2016, Chris saw the impending opioid-related housing crisis and decided to take action. She reviewed outcomes for participants with substance use disorders, saw that they experienced similar outcomes to folks without substance use disorders, and got to work. Pathways became the first in the country to use a scattered site Housing First model for folks experiencing homelessness with opioid use disorders.

In addition to all participants retaining housing in the first year, 64% are in treatment for their substance use. The program is successful because it uses permanent housing combined with wrap-around services.

Without Chris’s creativity and determination, hundreds would still be sleeping on the streets. We hope you'll join us in voting for Chris as the Housing & Community Development innovator!