Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration plans to allocate more to Riverview than to all other opioid settlement money initiatives combined.
Hey there, neighbors. It’s a new week with new events and new job opportunities. Check it out below. Also,
Vizion Gallery on Kensington Avenue offers artists a place to practice, vend and find community.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration plans to allocate more to Riverview than to all other opioid settlement money initiatives combined.
Philadelphia plans to spend nearly two-thirds of its opioid settlement funds — $167 million — on Riverview Wellness Village and related programs over the next five years, according to city data obtained by Kensington Voice through a right-to-know request.
Riverview is a long-term recovery housing facility that opened in January in Northeast Philadelphia for people who have completed at least 30 days of inpatient drug treatment.
Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration plans to allocate more opioid settlement money to Riverview than to all other settlement initiatives combined between fiscal years 2026 and 2030.
The opioid funding will cover most of the $186 million the city plans to spend on Riverview’s operating costs, including facilities and security, resident and housing services, staffing, programming, and consulting support.
Riverview is managed by the Office of Community Wellness and Recovery, which also oversees Philly Home at Girard, a low-barrier, long term shelter in North Philadelphia. Another $14 million is budgeted for that office, for staff and various supportive/consulting services for fiscal years 2026 to 2030, according to city data. It’s unclear how much of that money is opioid dollars versus general city operating funds.
Philadelphia receives a share of national opioid settlement funds, which are being distributed following multiple federal lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies for their role in the opioid crisis.
The Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust oversees how those funds are spent in Philadelphia.
“The decision to use a large percentage of opioid settlement funds for Riverview Wellness Village and connected wellness and recovery initiatives makes great sense since the opioid settlement funds have strict guidelines about how funds can be used,” a spokesperson for the Managing Director’s Office wrote in an email. “And most of the programming and operations meet the strict guidelines of the Trust.”
Riverview is located next to the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on State Road. When it opened, elected officials said it would offer primary care, chronic disease management, behavioral health support, community gardening, art therapy, and workforce development opportunities.
As of June 2025, the city reported that Riverview has housed 100 residents.
The facility is part of Parker’s broader “wellness ecosystem,” unveiled in her $6.37 billion city budget proposal in March. That budget included major spending on policing, prisons, and renovations to Riverview.
The facility sits on 20 acres of formerly vacant, city-owned land. During the unveiling in January, Managing Director Adam Thiel called the previous site a “derelict city facility.” The building complex was gutted and renovated into recovery housing by trade unions.
In her budget address, Parker said she would seek an additional $65 million in capital funding to expand Riverview’s capacity from 336 to 600 beds by constructing an additional residential site at the complex.
The city expects to spend a total of about $210 million in opioid settlement dollars from fiscal years 2026 to 2030.
During that period, the city plans to allocate:
The city has not budgeted settlement funds for its wound care van after fiscal year 2027. Opioid funding also ended after fiscal year 2024 for the Community Healing and Overdose Prevention grants and the Kensington Community Resilience grants.
In fiscal year 2026, the city allocated $14.74 million for Philly Home at Girard. The current lease ends this fiscal year, and no additional operating funds are budgeted beyond 2026.
At a Special Committee on Kensington hearing last week, Donna Cooper, executive director of advocacy group Children First, said schools should be able to use opioid dollars to address mental health and expand youth programming. Multiple school-aged children also spoke about their exposure to trauma in the neighborhood and suggested ways the city could invest more in Kensington and its schools.
“How are we using [opioid dollars] to train every teacher in the schools in Kensington to know when a kid's suffering from trauma, and how to help them build self-regulation skills?” Cooper said.
But the city has not budgeted opioid funds for any Kensington-specific, quality-of-life projects over the next five years, despite these ongoing calls from residents, community leaders, and public officials to use the money to fund preventive efforts for Kensington youth.
In 2023, $7.5 million in opioid settlement funds was allocated for Kensington parks, schools, home repairs, rent relief, and small business support.
In June 2024, the Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust ruled that some of the Kensington spending was “noncompliant” with federal guidelines.
City officials appealed to the trust’s dispute committee in October 2024, arguing that addressing “social determinants of health” — like housing stability, economic opportunity, and access to safe green spaces — helps reduce the risk of substance use disorder and overdose. Health and neighborhood experts also testified about the toll the crisis has taken on Kensington children and families.
The committee partially reversed its ruling but upheld the rejection of $3.4 million in spending for home repairs and small business support. Despite the ruling, the city did not roll back that spending.
The administration later ended its major city-funded grant program that had allowed Kensington residents to decide how opioid settlement funds were spent in their neighborhood through a process facilitated by the Scattergood Foundation.
The Overdose Prevention and Community Healing Fund is now managed by the Office of Public Safety, which a city spokesperson described as the administration’s way of funding quality-of-life initiatives in Kensington.
“The city still believes that community initiatives are necessary and impactful,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement to Kensington Voice.
Councilmember Quetcy Lozada declined to comment. Councilmembers Mark Squilla and Mike Driscoll, who also represent Kensington, did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.
Have any questions, comments, or concerns about this story? Send an email to editors@kensingtonvoice.com. Or call/text the editors desk line at (215) 385-3115.
An ordinance that expands a business curfew currently in effect in a section of Kensington will be enforced in much of North Philadelphia and more of Kensington in 60 days.
The Philadelphia Board of Health unanimously approved a regulation relating to Councilmember Quetcy Lozada’s mobile services ban in Kensington. The health department will now oversee a permitting process for all mobile medical providers in the city.
Mayor Cherelle Parker’s sweeping $2 billion housing plan—the Housing Opportunities Made Easy (H.O.M.E.) initiative aims to preserve and create 30,000 housing units over four years in response to the city’s housing crisis.
The Philadelphia Board of Health postponed a vote on Councilmember Quetcy Lozada’s mobile service regulations, citing legal, policy and equity concerns about a district-specific law affecting Kensington.
Stay informed with community-driven reporting, local events, and neighborhood updates — every week, free to your inbox.
