PathWays PA and Women In Transition: A Partnership to Better Serve Women

Abstract

For the last year, the leadership of PathWays PA and of Women In Transition have worked together to form a partnership to ensure that vulnerable women living in the greater Philadelphia area have access to the services necessary to achieve self-sufficiency, well-being, safety and sobriety. The partnership between PathWays PA and Women In Transition comes at a time when all social service organizations face two daunting challenges: increased demand for services and reduced resources. The approach taken by PathWays PA and Women In Transition offers an innovative way to “do more with less,” creating operational efficiencies within two organizations with complementary missions and services, which creates opportunities for cross referrals and joint programming without duplication of services.

The United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey and The Philadelphia Foundation played a critical role in helping to bring PathWays PA and Women In Transition together. Through the resources and support provided by the United Way and The Philadelphia Foundation, PathWays PA was able to engage external consultants who provided expertise that helped in analyzing the risks and benefits of the partnership and kept the process moving forward.