Philly Joy Bank
The Philly Joy Bank is a guaranteed income pilot that provides pregnant Philadelphians with no strings attached cash with the goal of improving birth outcomes. The application for Philly Joy Bank participation is now open.
The Philly Joy Bank was developed by the CAN’s Holistic Mental Health Group. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Division of Maternal, Child, and Family Health is the backbone agency of the CAN.
Visit the Philadelphia City Fund to support this program financially.
WE CAN Cook
We CAN Cook is a pilot Collective Impact program created by the Philadelphia Community Action Network (CAN) and the Philadelphia DOH in July 2023. It provided 6 months of free meals and groceries as well as an Instapot to pregnant individuals in Northern Philadelphia. The food was delivered twice a week by the vendor Helping Hands Warming Hearts, supplying the pregnant individual and their household children with 4 meals per week. The goal of We CAN Cook is to reduce food insecurity and the rate of preterm births in Philadelphia.
Newborns and Neighbors
The Newborns & Neighbors program, created by the CAN's Integrated Care work group, is a collaboration between the CAN and Drexel University's School of Public Health. Through this program, perinatal peer support workers are trained to provide practical and emotional support for new moms and birthing people during the first 6 weeks postpartum. The steering committee is led by mothers and birthing people with lived experience. These members developed the program, training, and research protocols.
Philly Families CAN
Several years ago, Access to Care work group members came together to develop a plan for how to make it easier for families and providers to connect with home visiting services. Prior to this system being launched, it was difficult to determine the eligibility rules for each home visiting program. Now a person can call one phone number or fill out a form online to connect which the services that are right for them.
The William Penn Foundation awarded a $1.3 million grant to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health to work with the city's home visiting service providers to implement a centralized intake system for home visiting. The new centralized intake system is a “one-stop-shop” for home visiting in Philadelphia, making it easier for families and referring providers to access these important services.
The CAN Community Group provides feedback on every component of the system. This includes staffing, branding, and metrics. This group also collaborated on choosing a name to honor the CAN's involvement: Philly Families CAN.
“Sometimes when your not OK it isn’t
something that needs to be fixed,
It’s something that needs to be felt”
-Ronnda Montgomery, CAN Member
Awareness Videos
The Let’s Talk: Postpartum Depression Awareness video is a public service video designed for pregnant people, new moms, birthing people, fathers, physicians, and for other training and educational purposes. The video aims to meet the following objectives:
Reduce the stigma associated with postpartum depression
Promote awareness of the disorder and it’s symptoms
Provide a connection to local resources
For more information on postpartum depression resources visit PhillyLovesFamilies.com.
The Real Dads, Strong Families video is a non-profit video designed for new fathers, new moms, birthing people and other family and community members. It is also a tool for training and educational purposes. The video aims to meet the following objectives:
To explain why a father’s involvement with his child can positively impact his health and his child’s development and long-term health
To promote resources that support their efforts to be a positive role model and a continuous presence in their child’s lives.
“This is a major part of the solution:
LISTEN TO BLACK WOMEN”
-Saleemah McNeil, recipient of a CAN minigrant with the Maternal Wellness Village