Profile: Sister Mary Scullion, ’02, USA
August 2007
"None of us are home until all of us are home.” So says the motto of Project H.O.M.E. (Housing, Opportunities for employment, Medical Care, Education), one of the organizations Sister Mary Scullion, ’02, USA, co-founded in 1989, of which she is also executive director.
Scullion has focused on alleviating homelessness in Philadelphia since the 1970s. While working at Women of Hope (residence for women who are homeless and mentally ill), she had the “great fortune” to meet Joan Dawson, who was studying at Drexel University, working toward a master’s degree in taxation. Dawson was volunteering and they realized they shared the same passion for the work and for the people who were living on the streets. They decided to open a winter emergency shelter for men who were chronically homeless with special needs. Once they started working with them, they knew there was no turning back because much more needed to be done.
In 2002, when Scullion was awarded her Eisenhower fellowship, she and Dawson were also awarded the Ford Foundation's prestigious "Leadership for a Changing World Award." Under Scullion and Dawson’s leadership, Project H.O.M.E grew from an emergency shelter to 418 units of housing and three businesses that provide employment to people who had been homeless.
Project H.O.M.E. also prevents homelessness in a low-income neighborhood in North Central Philadelphia. This initiative includes greening vacant lots, economic development, home
ownership for the working poor, and the Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology Labs—a 38,000 square foot, state-of-the-art center that offers comprehensive educational and occupational programming. To date, Project H.O.M.E. has leveraged over $40,000,000 in equity towards housing and economic development.
The Eisenhower fellowship opened up a whole new world of experiences in Eastern Europe and in the multitude of relationships that she has formed through the Eisenhower network. Scullion feels “it is a fellowship that never ends since the network, conferences, relationships and education continue to shape me.” The timing of her Fellowship was fortuitous because she studied how other countries used technology to benefit low-income people and communities. Diane Melley, ‘01, USA, also connected Scullion with IBM’s Reinventing Education program in Milan, Italy. She was able to use this information in the development of the Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology Labs. Scullion was able to incorporate many of the experiences into the Learning Center.
“Many of the Fellows are part of the fabric of Philadelphia’s civic and political life,” says Scullion. The Eisenhower Fellows in the Philadelphia area have focused on solutions to urban problems which lead them to be instrumental in providing opportunities for the work of Project H.O.M.E. to be more effective. Scullion counts herself privileged to have worked with Pedro Ramos, ’00, USA, and Loree Jones, ’07, USA, in addressing the issue of homelessness in Philadelphia through a public/private partnership. Diane Melley, of IBM, has provided technical assistance and funding to the technology center. Tim Boyle, ’05, USA, of KPMG, has opened many doors for Project H.O.M.E. Tine Hanson Turton, ’05, USA, and Scullion have also collaborated on a report related to health care for an underserved neighborhood and also on Eisenhower tours and small meetings for various Fellows. “Their leadership, partnership and personal support has had a huge impact on me on many levels. I consider myself to be very fortunate to be part of this dynamic and creative group,” says Scullion.
In 2006, Scullion started work with Jon Bon Jovi and President Clinton in Project H.O.M.E.’s Phase V Homeownership Project — a unique partnership that Bon Jovi negotiated amongst Project H.O.M.E., Habitat for Humanity, the Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation and Saturn. This will undertake the renovation of 15 row houses in one of Philadelphia’s most poverty-ridden neighborhoods.
During her Fellowship, Sister Mary Scullion was able to see and experience the world in a “deeper and more intimate way” that made her “feel more at home in the world.” She felt very humbled. “Being able to spend time overseas and meet people from all walks of life while I was an Eisenhower Fellow, made me feel not like an outsider but part of something that they were part of too. It truly made me think twice about opportunity, responsibility and truth.”
