Organizers and community members marched from Huntingdon Station to Prevention Point Thursday in memory of those who have died from overdose. The annual event is part of International Overdose Awareness Day.
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.
Born and raised in Kensington, Austin Wright launched Ava’s Farm — a local produce market and nonprofit that offers free meals and youth programs to residents.
Content warning: The poem describes someone who is in recovery and experiences depression.
Drew Watson is 35 years old. Raised in Kensington, he grew up with his four brothers and father. Watson had a lot of free, unsupervised time, so he started rapping and writing poetry at 12 years old. Writing poetry became a hobby and outlet to help him cope with his substance use disorder. This poem is about Watson, who is in recovery, and how he feels waking up in the morning and taking a walk to cope. It describes what he sees and how he feels about what he’s been doing to himself. And, he writes, the feeling of wanting to die because of how much “this little blue bag” has total control of his mind and body.
Well, I saw you walking this way
A ghostly spectre
With an angel face and a bunch of
bags wrapped with tiny rubber
bands that were here to stay
You saw me in a horrid state
A desperately sick, fallen soldier
Who needed to be saved
Walking past beautifully run-down
girls looking for a date
But you can’t save
What doesn’t want to be saved
It’s a fine line we walk
Nothing you can do to change my
mind
I’m feeling low and want to be high
and oh so numb
Well, it can’t be this fentanyl
Has me where I’m supposed to be
Your best bet
Is to stay away from me
Like out of date currency
Worth nothing to nobody
I walk a fine line and slowly pass the
time
Never saw a cloud that was silver
lined
I’m quickly running out of time
To piece together
My fractured mind
This little blue bag
Is definitely death’s design
Editors: Zari Tarazona, Claire Wolters, Siani Colón / Designer: Henry Savage
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La licencia de maternidad debe estar entre las prioridades de las políticas públicas. Si bien la ley actual es insuficiente, su factibilidad es menor para mujeres de comunidades vulnerabilizadas.
Maternity leave must be a public policy priority. While current law is insufficient, it’s even more inaccessible for women in vulnerable communities.
Families in Philadelphia who decide to have children have something in common. They must choose whether to support their baby or find the money to support its growth. The strategies are up to them because their situation is not a public priority.
Algo en común tienen las familias de Filadelfia que deciden tener descendencia. Deben elegir acompañar a su bebé o buscar el dinero para sostener su crecimiento. Quedan a su valoración las estrategias porque su situación no es una prioridad pública.
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