FAIR Project: Holistic Support for Families in Philadelphia

The Family Advocacy and Integrated Resources (FAIR) Project is an innovative partnership that combines civil legal aid services and concrete needs assistance with maternal and child health home visiting programs. The goal is to provide families with comprehensive support that addresses their immediate needs and long-term well-being, ensuring children and parents thrive together. 

This unique approach brings together home visitors, legal professionals, and financial assistance to offer families the tools to overcome challenges and create a better future for their children.

A Foundation in Maternal and Child Health Home Visiting

The FAIR Project's core is Maternal and Child Health Home Visiting, a proven model that supports historically underserved families with children under five. Home visitors use relationship-based care in the home, working with parents to navigate early childhood development and ensure the health and safety of both the child and parent. 

Studies have shown that home visiting programs improve health outcomes for both parent and child across their lifespan, reducing the risk of developmental delays, improving maternal health, and supporting family resilience. Home visitors also serve as critical connectors to resources, helping families access services and support that may otherwise be out of reach. 

However, even the best home-visiting programs can’t address all the challenges families face. This is where the FAIR Project comes in, offering essential legal and financial support to further ensure that families have what they need to succeed.

Medical-Legal Partnership: Addressing Legal Barriers to Health

One of the key elements of the FAIR Project is its Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP), which integrates legal assistance from HELP:MLP into home visiting services. Many families face legal barriers that can negatively impact their health and well-being, from issues like housing instability, unsafe living conditions and access to benefits. 

Through the FAIR Project, home visitors collaborate with legal professionals to screen families for unmet legal needs. This screening process helps identify issues that could impede family health outcomes, such as eviction notices, landlord disputes, or access to public benefits. When appropriate, families are referred to legal professionals who can provide free legal representation and advocacy, helping to address the underlying issues that may be affecting their health. 

By pairing legal expertise with home visiting services, the FAIR Project helps families navigate complex legal systems and removes barriers that could otherwise hinder their ability to access essential services, care, and housing.

The Family Support Fund: Alleviating Immediate Needs

The FAIR Project also offers a Family Support Fund, a critical resource designed to address urgent, concrete needs that cannot be met through other funding sources. This low-barrier, timely financial assistance can cover a variety of necessities related to the health and safety of families, such as:

• Housing: Assistance with rent or utilities to prevent eviction or homelessness. 
• Food: Support to ensure families have access to nutritious meals. 
• Beds and Furniture: Ensuring families have essential household items for their children’s safety and well-being. 
• Utilities: Covering the cost of essential services like electricity or heat during times of financial crisis. 

By removing the financial stress associated with these basic needs, the Family Support Fund allows families to focus on engaging with home visiting services and working toward their longer-term health and family goals.

How It Works

1. Home visitors receive training on how to identify unmet legal and financial needs among participants 
2. Home visitors conduct regular screening with families to identify unmet needs.  
3. Participants are referred to the FAIR Project's Legal and Family Support Fund teams for assistance.  
4. Clients receive emergency financial assistance and legal support across a variety of needs, including housing and income stability matters, among others.

A Holistic Approach to Family Well-Being

The true strength of the FAIR Project lies in its holistic approach to family support. It recognizes that families do not exist in isolation. They are shaped by a web of interrelated factors, from legal challenges and financial stress to housing stability and access to health care. By addressing these challenges in a coordinated and comprehensive way, the FAIR Project helps families meet both their immediate needs and long-term goals. 

When families are supported in these areas, they are better equipped to engage in maternal and child health home visiting services and make meaningful progress toward their health and family goals. This, in turn, creates a foundation for improved health outcomes and greater family resilience, helping families break the cycle of poverty and build a stronger future for their children.

How You Can Get Involved

The FAIR Family Support Fund provides urgent financial relief to Philadelphia Families. The program was made possible with the generous support of the William Penn Foundation. Moving forward, FAIR hopes to sustain and expand this fund in part through donations. Please help keep families housed, warm and fed this holiday season with a donation to the FAIR Family Support Fund. All donations go directly to supporting families in need.