Civic and Community Engagement
Thousands of affordable homes in Philadelphia are threatened by expiring government subsidies
The University City Townhomes saga could be a sign of things to come. | From: The Inquirer (Read more.)
Latest reports
Civic and Community Engagement
Cash bail in Philadelphia: Five zip codes bear the brunt
A new tool from the nonprofit Philadelphia Bail Fund aims to highlight the patterns that exist in Philly’s cash bail system, furthering public knowledge of how bail works — and how it disproportionately affects underserved communities. | From: Billy Penn (Read more.)
Community and Family
How Philly’s Womb-ish doula services empowered this Black mother
Morris wanted a different experience for her second pregnancy. She wanted to hire a Black doula to help her birth naturally, while teaching herself to feel empowered, as a Black woman, about her body and resiliency. | From: WHYY (Read more.)
Community and Family
How to find child care in Philadelphia
Finding child care can be filled with headaches. Philly parents offer their tips, plus additional tips for finding financial assistance and more. | From: The Inquirer (Read more.)
Community and Family
How to find before and after school care for kids in Philly
Whether you already found full-time child care or are just looking for help to fill in the gaps outside of your work hours — before or after school care might be what you’re looking for. | From: The Inquirer (Read more.)
Education
To recruit Black teachers, do the work
What else is new is that the state Department of Education has a plan to increase the number of teachers by thousands by the year 2025, which includes expanding teacher apprenticeships and easing teacher certification guidelines, as well as ramped up teacher recruiting. But to solve the teacher shortage problem, the state must address an equally troubling problem: the lack of Black teachers in Pennsylvania. | From: The Inquirer (Read more.)
Civic and Community Engagement
Water Department installs art in Germantown featuring community poetry
In response to Germantown’s frustration with the Philadelphia Water Department and the neighborhood’s need for flooding resources, the city agency worked with former Philadelphia poet laureate Trapeta B. Mayson to give residents space to speak about their experiences with flooding through a poetry workshop series in the summer and fall of 2021. | From: Germantown Info Hub (Read more.)
Community and Family
Philadelphia backpack drives and giveaways for the fall season
There are a number of opportunities to get bookbags packed with school supplies for free, hosted by organizations across the city and the School District of Philadelphia itself. And for people looking to contribute, there are also plenty of chances to do that. | From: Billy Penn (Read more.)
Civic and Community Engagement
PHL Youth Week opens space for gun violence conversation
This week, the Mayor’s Office of Youth Engagement has set out to gather teen input on education, public safety, entrepreneurship and health during PHL Youth Week. It’s an opportunity for gun violence prevention activists to try to elevate the voices of teens who are directly impacted by the crisis. | From: WHYY (Read more.)
coronavirus
City of Philadelphia workers achieve near complete compliance with COVID vaccine mandate
The City of Philadelphia’s workforce is nearly 100% compliant with the workforce vaccination mandate for COVID-19. | From: WHYY (Read more.)