"The Family is the problem and the Family is the solution..."

-Queen Mother Falaka Fattah Established in 1968, the House of Umoja, Inc. is an internationally acclaimed institution that has, for over five decades, designed and implemented timeless global models for eradicating violence, fostering community development, creating economic sustainability, and addressing many of the key challenges that prevent boys and adolescent males from reaching their full potential and maturing into productive and successful adults. Its successful track record of positively transforming the lives of approximately 3,000 male adolescents and reducing gang violence, moved universities and institutions to seek the House of Umoja, Inc.’s expertise. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Prevention and the Center for Disease Control were among the institutions that sought the House of Umoja, Inc.’s expertise on gang violence reduction, youth programming, and community organizing. Former United States Presidents The Honorable James Earl Carter, Jr. and the late Honorable Ronald Wilson Reagan recognized the House of Umoja, Inc. for its pioneering work that has been documented in published articles such as “A Summons To Life,” by Robert Woodson of the American Enterprise Institute (www.aei.org) in 1981 and “The Violent Juvenile Offender,” by Paul DeMuro and Richard Allison of the National Council On Crime and Delinquency (www.nccdglobal.org), in 1984. The House of Umoja operated in Philadelphia during the 1970’s as a unique grassroots program initiated by community residents David and Falaka Fattah (National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, 1999; see also Woodson, 1981, 1986, 1998). Using their own resources and their home as a base of operations, they created this family-centered community institution that effectively mediated gang conflicts and came to serve as a source of counsel and individual development for neighborhood gang and nongang youth. The family model “provides a sense of belonging, identity, and self-worth that was previously sought through gang membership” (National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, 1999:59). Through reparenting and providing role models, the House of Umoja has successfully transformed more than 3,000 frightened, frustrated, and alienated young minority males into self-assured, competent, concerned, and productive citizens. ​The National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise (NCNE) has identified eight characteristics associated with the House of Umoja’s success (National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, 1999): ◆ A family-centered organization that acts as youth’s primary human support system and is based on a participatory model of decision making. ◆ A process of socialization in which at-risk youth develop strong, healthy identities and may even earn the name Fattah, after the House of Umoja’s initiators. ◆ The Adella, a mechanism for conflict resolution and problem solving that requires full participation of all members. ◆ Individual learning to organize personal time and space. ◆ An emphasis on the importance of work and a redefinition of the meaning of work associated with virtue. ◆ An emphasis on service to others. ◆ A spiritual or ideological context expressed in common familial rituals. ​◆ Leadership training and development.