To keep parks open and citizens safe outdoors, cities must take a more proactive approach to prevent crowds. Two ways to achieve this goal are limiting the number of people in a given space, and increasing available spaces to safely spend time outdoors. | From: The Philadelphia Inquirer (Read more.)
After an unknown number of people were brought into Our Brother’s Place from the homeless encampment at the Convention Center on March 23 — the city says just a “handful” — 32 of 149 residents there contracted the coronavirus between March 26 and April 14. | From: The Philadelphia Inquirer (Read more.)
When Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, it increased the amount of money for food stamps. But the USDA narrowly interpreted that change, and while increasing more families’ benefits to the maximum allowed, it did not increase the benefits for those already getting the maximum. That effectively left 40% of recipients at the same level. From: The Philadelphia Inquirer (Read more.)
The city’s largest men’s shelter experienced a massive COVID-19 outbreak this weekend when more than half of its 63 guests and staff members tested positive for coronavirus. | From: The Kensington Voice (Read more.)
The Emergency Gap Fund is a grant program launched by the Village of Arts and Humanities in North Philadelphia to help black working artists in Philadelphia who were disproportionately impacted by shutdowns related to the coronavirus pandemic and, on average, have fewer resources and less generational wealth to fall back on. | From: The Philadelphia Inquirer (Read more.)
The proposed legislation would expand the law to cover all workers, including ones currently ineligible for its protections, such as gig workers and those working for companies with fewer than 10 employees. The legislation seeks to fill the large gaps left by the federal government’s emergency paid sick leave bill. | From: The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has denied unemployment benefits to about 20% of the 1.6 million new applicants since the coronavirus lockdown began in mid-March. If this includes you, advocates say the first thing is to make sure you filled out the application forms completely and accurately. Any errors can derail your application. Here’s what else you need to know. | From: The Philadelphia Inquirer (Read more.)
Philadelphia’s Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, a law aimed at protecting the city’s 16,000 nannies, house cleaners, and home care workers, takes effect Friday, in the middle of a pandemic that’s left a huge portion of these workers — mostly women of color, many undocumented immigrants — jobless and unable to qualify for federal assistance. | From: The Philadelphia Inquirer (Read more.)
How our anchor institutions spend money in the immediate aftermath of COVID-19 could be the linchpin of an equitable post-pandemic economy — and to building a more resilient region for the future. | From: Billy Penn (Read more.)
A New Jersey landlord waived the rent for his tenants over the next three months—something most property owners probably can’t afford. How can both sides get relief? | From: The Philadelphia Citizen (Read more.)
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