Philadelphia Group Blogs

When Josh Childs’ father saw POPPYN’s episode on the Black Lives Matter movement , he told Josh he wasn’t a kid anymore. “He accepted me for my knowledge and didn’t make me be quiet,” said Childs, a junior at Science Leadership Academy who coproduced the episode. POPPYN, or Presenting Our Perspective on Philly Youth News, is a program that gives Philadelphia high school students the chance to tell their side of the story on a topic of interest through visual media. Read the complete story by...

This piece is a wonderful commentary showcasing a solution story out of Philadelphia where a coffee shop is creating a sense of community, job-skills, and life-skills for young adults formerly placed in foster care. The Monkey and the Elephant is a shining example of doing right by foster alumni, and bringing hope to ending intergenerational cycles of trauma and adversity. Sherreiff McCrae was 5 years old when he was placed in the care of a neighbor. Not long after, the Department of Human...

The city of Philadelphia announced Friday that it will stop billing parents for the cost of their children’s incarceration, just hours after a front-page Marshall Project story in The Washington Post highlighted the practice in the city and across the nation. Heather Keafer, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, said the decision to stop charging parents will go into effect immediately. The agency already said late Thursday it plans to end its contract with Steve...

"What haunts me is how few parents realize the incredible need children have to feel emotionally as well as physically safe in the significant relationships they experience early in life. Feeling truly safe requires a child has at least one significant adult who is predictably available and attuned. Sometimes parents and caregivers think they just need to be physically present in a child’s life, but attunement means so much more. An attuned parent or caregiver is really attending, listening,...

The organization, Pennsylvania Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC), trains Philadelphia cops to empathize with inner-city youth. Its seminars aren’t a certain fix to rebuilding trust between police and the communities they serve, but data collected from DMC and other case studies around the country, suggest they are making a difference. These types of meet-ups, which are formally known as “facilitated dialogue,” also appear to be associated with a drop in crime. After forums in a Boston...

Meet Principal Linda Cliatt-Wayman, who tells about her journey to work with the students and teachers to bring peace and learning to Philadelphia's Strawberry Mansion High Shool. "With passion and perseverance, Linda Cliatt-Wayman, principal of Strawberry Mansion High School, rescued one of the most dangerous schools in the country. Listen and share her incredible story of resilience and transformation" here in this 7-minute video . Philadelphia ACE Task Force members who have worked on...

At first glance, the Philadelphia neighborhoods in zip codes 19148 and 19120 might seem to have little in common. The 19120 zip code is on the northern edge of the city, bordering Cheltenham Township and including parts of the Olney, East Oak Lane, and Lawncrest neighborhoods. The 19148 zip code is along the Delaware River in Southeast Philadelphia, just below the Pennsport neighborhood and bisected by Interstate 76 before the highway links to the Walt Whitman Bridge. But these two areas...

"Racism is fueling a national health crisis." The author, Zoe Carpenter, examines the infant mortality, with a close look at the city of Milwaukee, whose health commissioner has identified reducing high infant mortality a primary health priority. Racial disparities in infant mortality continue and "a growing body of evidence points to racial discrimination, rather than race itself, as the dominant factor in explaining why so many black babies are dying." " Chronic stress raises amounts of...

The Drexel University Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice | Healing Hurt People - In partnership with the Drexel University Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships, Philadelphia Works and The Behavioral Health Training and Education Network presents: Community Health Worker Peer (CHWP) Training Academy Do you know what it is like to be impacted by violence in your neighborhood? Do you want to help people heal from their injuries? We invite you to learn more about becoming a...

Representing the Philadelphia ACE Task Force and Drexel University , Dr. Lee Pachter, pediatrician, shared an introduction to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), the difference between healthy stress and toxic stress in childhood, its impact on lifelong health and well-being & the universality of ACEs in so many of our children's lives. He also discussed the protective factor and buffering value for a child that unconditional love and support from an adult - parent, teacher or neighbor...

The ACE Messaging Work Group met on Tuesday, February 14, 2017. The three messaging groups, Youth, Older Adults, and Parents of Young Children reported in on their progress and current projected timeline for completion by end of June 2017, and provided feedback and questions to each other for each messaging theme. All groups have met within the last two weeks. The Work Group explored challenges that arose around the “what” that we are connecting people to through the messages, and how much...

A researcher and psychologist from Philadelphia pose the question, is President Trump causing toxic stress? The presidency is supposed to age the president, not the public.” And with that Jon Stewart, former host of the Daily Show and comic genius, touched on an overlooked but very serious public health question. Is Donald Trump, with his daily Twitter harangues, impulsive and outrageous executive orders, and all around nastiness harming the health of individuals? Have people become more...