Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • A doctor's hunt for community-based solutions to childhood obesity

    The Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley (IHC) provides comprehensive community care for low-income people of all races and ethnicities. In an effort to address issues of food insecurity and poor access to nutrition, IHC partners with local food banks to provide free food in a farmer’s market setting, allowing people in need to choose the food they want. The Center also has a fitness center children can use with a doctor’s referral, as well as camps and educational programs for children surrounding fitness and nutrition.

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  • Could fixing abandoned homes reduce gun violence in Philly? New research says yes

    Researchers have found that cleaning up and making repairs to homes is leading to reduced gun violence. The city’s Basic Systems Repair Program facilitates these interventions by providing free repairs for low-income households and abandoned buildings that can often become hubs for illegal activity and gun storage. These improvements help address stigma, boost local moral and improve the overall look and feel of the city by cleaning up vacant lots and business storefronts.

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  • Sanitation solutions: How giving people trash bins made Baltimore cleaner

    Baltimore’s green bin program shows there are relatively simple steps cities can take to tangibly improve the cleanliness of neighborhoods. The solution is also working in Philadelphia, through which people who live in the city are lidded trash cans and bins to store their garbage.

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  • Sanitation Solutions: How hidden cameras became Philly's fiercest weapon in the war on dumping

    Philadelphia has 300 surveillance cameras and, increasingly, sees them as central to its strategy of holding individuals accountable for illegal dumping. This has led to empty lots remaining garbage free, and setting examples of those who are caught and prosecuted.

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  • Sanitation Solutions: When the city let them down, Philly rose up — with orange trash cans

    A Philadelphia-based program called I Love Thy Hood's stepped up to help attack the city's dirty streets problem. Fueled entirely by volunteer efforts, the program has placed more than 106 cans on blocks around the city and collected over 100,000 pounds of trash.

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  • How Philadelphia escaped disaster in the face of a dozen shuttered maternity wards

    A large number of hospital closures pushed the remaining obstetrics chiefs to work together to maintain safe and accessible maternity care, especially for low-income and English as a second language community members. The consortium shared best practices and established easily transferrable common electronic medical records. Hospitals triaged patients by needs and transferred them if needed, rather than prioritizing income generation and competition. Doctors practiced a “laborist” model where they were assigned to be on the labor and delivery floor rather than follow a particular caseload of patients.

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  • SEPTA is testing a new way to help people struggling with addiction on the system

    A pilot program in Philadelphia’s transit system is providing social services for people struggling with addiction. Loitering violations in and around SEPTA stations are on the rise in the wake of the pandemic, spurring the city to reach out to those experiencing homelessness and addiction instead of solely policing the vulnerable populations. The project will be implemented in several other stations around the city as well.

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  • In-person classes. Old buildings. Almost no COVID. Are Philly Catholic schools a blueprint?

    Catholic schools in Philadelphia that have reopened during the pandemic have been able to avoid in-school community transmission amongst students and staff. Relying heavily on safety precautions, rigid systems and protocols, and community trust, the schools have been able to bring back 95% of their elementary students for face-to-face learning.

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  • ‘It's a conversation': Philly's alternative to landlord-tenant court is preventing eviction

    Philadelphia's mandatory Eviction Diversion program, started as a way to help landlords and tenants to cope with pandemic-related economic struggles, requires landlords to enter mediation with tenants who are behind on their rent. By skipping eviction court, the parties can work out repayment plans and tenants can gain access to rental-assistance programs. Mediated agreements avoid a legal judgment that would hurt a tenant's credit and make it difficult to find another place to live, while preventing evictions during the pandemic reduces homelessness.

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  • Community lending helps African businesses in Philly stay afloat during COVID-19

    Philadelphia's community of African business owners has created its own security net in the wake of the shutdown, which left many businesses closed or in debt. A traditional African system known as "susu" provided the mutual aid entrepreneurs needed to stay afloat. Susus provide an informal loan network in which members contribute regularly and take turns tapping into the group funds. During the lockdown, financial support was given to those participants who were most in need. The informal loan clubs were crucial to the owners who are typically immigrants and were denied federal aid at greater rates.

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