PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The city of Philadelphia is trying to address the homelessness and addiction crisis in Kensington. A weekly program is meeting an ongoing need on the streets.
The city’s Wellness Resource Fair in Kensington began in May and runs through September, in a neighborhood that is second to Center City for the highest number of unsheltered individuals in Philadelphia.
“The ultimate goal is to give them housing assessments or treatment because we can give them a sandwich today, but what we really want to do is help them get into long-term treatment or housing,” said Joseph Bamat with the Philadelphia Office of Homeless Services.
About 18 agencies gather in front of Rock Ministries on Kensington Avenue near Boudinot Street every Tuesday to provide a one-stop shop of services to those in need. The weekly fair was started last year at McPherson Square.
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“We have treatment services. We have COVID-19 vaccines and HIV testing, hepatitis A vaccines, and hepatitis C vaccines. We have wound care and EMT services,” said Alex Peters, project manager for the Philadelphia Opioid Response Unit.
Department of Behavioral Health Services Certified Recovery Specialist Racquel Fetzer said various treatments for drug addiction are delivered as needed.
“A lot of people request methadone due to fentanyl,” said Fetzer.
“Unfortunately, the suboxone medicated assisted treatment does not always help folks with the withdrawal. We’ll hear often of folks not wanting to go somewhere that provides suboxone.”
“There are three people dying every day of overdose in Philadelphia,” said Philadelphia Fire Department Capt. Tabitha Boyle. She works in the Alternative Response Unit which works to help people who overdose.
“Our mission is to get Narcan in every pocket to give everyone a chance at life, to make better choices the next time around, and get their humanity back.”
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She says last year they distributed over 2,000 doses of the lifesaving treatment, and this year they are just as busy.
According to preliminary state data, there were 1,274 overdose deaths in Philadelphia in 2021.
Since the fair opened in May, at least 31 people have accepted placement into treatment.