Lutheran Social Mission Society Of Philadelphia

The bilingual domestic violence program (bdvp)serves over 5,000 individuals a year by providing free, quality services for victims and survivors of domestic and dating abuse regardless of gender or sexual orientation, ethnicity, and religious affiliation. Services include: a safe space for in-person and over-the-phone crisis counseling, ongoing individual and group counseling, transitional housing, and advocacy and counseling specifically for immigrant populations. We also work with hundreds of people a year through prevention and education work, including star (students talking about relationships), our signature healthy relationship program with teens, as well as the masculinity action project, our prevention initiative with men. Bdvp also has specialized services based in local hospitals, including einstein, chop, and jefferson.

The settlement's center for older adults is a hub for many longtime residents of the river wards neighborhoods. The center provides low-income older adults with daily meals and regular programming, including everything from cardio drumming and health coaching to art workshops, bingo, yoga and regional trips. The settlement offers more than 20 classes and events each week and as many as 50 people come through the center doors every day. The center currently has 175 active members and is an important community anchor in a rapidly gentrifying section of the city.