Social services live and die by the acronym. And by “acronym,” we mean an innumerable amount of acronyms.

Between policies, practices and titles alone, there are enough acronyms in the social service space to trigger an existential crisis. Throw in localized acronyms and you have to wonder how social workers, clinicians and government staffers stay sane.

For example, Resources for Human Development (RHD) has a family shelter program called FaSST (Family Shelter Support Team). At the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania (CHOP), volunteers offer some similar services under HHI (Homeless Health Initiative). Both organizations work in some capacity with family shelter Families Forward Philadelphia (FFP).

That’s just one small sliver of services for homeless youth and families in Philadelphia. You get the picture.

The point is, these acronyms are a major part of the language used in the service of vulnerable populations. So, we compiled 20 acronyms used by nonprofits and government agencies across several issue areas in Philadelphia.

Think you can speak the lingo?