Housing and homelessness in Kensington, Philadelphia. Reporting on affordability, evictions, encampments, gentrification and shelter access in the neighborhood.
Streets were closed from Kensington Avenue to Emerald Street and Orleans to Somerset streets.
Health & Wellness
The medical services that the zoning exception would impact include HIV and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing and treatment, HIV medication, substance use treatment, and wound care.
Accountability
The state trust that oversees the disbursement of opioid settlement dollars says Philadelphia improperly used $7.5 million on eviction prevention, home repair, and improvements to schools and parks.
Accountability
Prison staff say the staffing shortage makes it impossible to deliver timely, high-quality care for the approximately 4,700 people incarcerated in Philadelphia’s jails daily – a majority of whom present with substance use disorder.
Accountability
The Philadelphia Police Academy’s entire graduating class – a total of 78 new officers – will patrol Kensington “24/7” starting June 18. Their deployment will increase the neighborhood’s police force by almost 200%.
Accountability
In the weeks since the city dismantled the Kensington Avenue encampment, legal observers, harm reduction advocates, and service providers are wondering why the police gave Christian volunteers more access than others.
Accountability
Some residents feel safer, while others say the spillover from the sweep and increased police presence has caused problems on side streets.
Accountability
Following an encampment sweep on the 3000 and 3100 blocks of Kensington Avenue Wednesday, police have flooded the area, leading residents and activists to wonder when a law enforcement crackdown is coming
Accountability
When outreach workers arrived, the people staying in tents and structures on the 3000-3100 blocks of Kensington Avenue were gone.
Accountability
No city social services were present when police dispersed the encampments despite promises from city leaders that the initiative would be “service-led.”
Accountability
On Wednesday, social service providers and police officers will tell people living in tents or makeshift structures on Kensington Avenue’s 3000 and 3100 blocks to relocate.
Accountability
In some cases, people are connected to long-term recovery programs at Christian facilities that don’t provide evidence-based care, including required unpaid labor or “work therapy.”
Accountability
While Philly's police commissioner said the first phase will begin after an encampment sweep scheduled for May 8, the city’s managing director said “we don’t have enough beds” to offer those who need addiction treatment and related services.
Housing & Shelter
The city’s plan entails bussing unhoused residents to the surrounding counties and possible family reunification, plus increased police engagement, according to city officials.
Accountability
Deputy Police Commissioner Pedro Rosario wants to send the Philadelphia Police Department’s “best out of the best” to Kensington
Solutions Spotlight
While some have described PAD’s model “as a sort of triage/urgent care,” it’s unclear what the program’s role – if any – will be in the Parker administration's “triage centers” plan.
Accountability
The 761-page document mentions Kensington a total of 16 times – more than any other neighborhood, including Center City.
Accountability
During the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s annual Mayoral Luncheon last week, Mayor Cherelle Parker voiced her support for 7th District Councilwoman Quetcy Lozada and offered attendees another glimpse into her plans for Kensington.
Small Business
The Sunshine House will offer various services, including gun violence and overdose prevention, and a “messaging center” where people can make and receive calls and collect messages from home.
Accountability
For some in Kensington and Harrowgate, the “triage” idea demonstrates “actions that match the gravity of our situation.”
Housing & Shelter
The operation was a drug and firearm seizure through the attorney general's office, according to spokesperson Brett Hambright.
Accountability
A coalition of City Council members who have described themselves as “the Kensington caucus” say they’re working to create a “triage” system for people who are unhoused and living with addiction in the neighborhood.
Accountability
Rosario is a captain in the city’s east detective division and says he’s worked in the Kensington community his “entire police career.”
Arts & Culture
The managing director, a position currently held by Tumar Alexander, directly oversees various city departments and programs responsible for addressing quality-of-life concerns in Kensington.
