PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A controversial bill that would put restrictions on mobile health services provided in Kensington has cleared a Philadelphia City Council committee and could be voted on as early as this week.
The bill prohibits mobile medical services in residential areas and near schools and parks. Sponsor Quetcy Lozada said she introduced the bill because residents are being confronted with crowds of people seeking services, blocking doors and creating safety concerns.
Mobile health providers “often result in excessive litter, large unruly crowds, and disruption to everyday life in front of homes, schools and on public sidewalks, creating concerns and straining resources,” she said. “They are impacting negatively an entire community of people that we have a responsibility to serve. People have spent their entire life savings on homes, they pay taxes. We have a responsibility to them.”
Most of the in-person testimony given last week was opposition from service providers. They testified that the definitions of services and prohibited areas are so vague that essentially all services would be barred anywhere in the area.
Candice Player, vice president of advocacy, public policy and street outreach for Project HOME, said the bill would effectively eliminate mobile services, leading to greater suffering.
“We must be able to meet people where they are,” she argued. “Street medicine teams must be able to provide health care to people who are ill and on our streets.”
Councilmember Jim Harrity, who lives in Kensington, pushed back, suggesting providers are causing new problems without solving existing ones.
“How many people did you put into housing from the Kensington area?” he asked Player during the contentious hearing last week. “You’re supposed to be out there getting people off the street and into housing.”
The bill passed with one no vote, clearing the way for consideration by the full council as early as Thursday.