Every week, we report on work of the Philadelphia Resilience Project, the City’s emergency response to combat the opioid crisis. Right now, the efforts are focused on Kensington and surrounding neighborhoods – the epicenter of the opioid crisis – but we expect to expand to other sections of the city as needed.
This week, we installed needle drop boxes in McPherson Square and SEPTA stations, made contact with more than 100 people regarding treatment and housing, posted notifications and conducted outreach about closing the Frankford Avenue encampment on November 15, started a Philly 311 pod dedicated specifically to the project and related neighborhood quality-of-life issues, and much more.
Below is a more detailed update on the immediate goals which have a deadline of November 16, 2018.
| Mission Area 1: Clear Encampments | |
| Immediate Goal | Progress as of October 26, 2018 |
| Clear Frankford Avenue encampment of all campers and debris by November 15. | Encampment closure effort began on October 15, with outreach to all individuals residing in the encampment. |
| In coordination with Mission Areas 3 and 6, solidify housing plans for 100 percent of Frankford encampment individuals who are relocated to the Navigation Center within 30 days of intake. | As of October 19, outreach was made to 114 people for treatment and housing. |
| Prevent unsafe squatting and the formation of new encampments on all vacant properties within the target area by November 15. | Licenses and Inspections (L&I) will send letters to owners of vacant lots in the target area by October 31 to inform owners how to prevent the formation of encampments. L&I has also identified 15 properties within Census Tract 178 for clean and seal operations. L&I will continue to survey Census Tracts in and around the target area to identify vacant properties for clean and seal. |
| Mission Area 2: Reduce Criminal Activity | |
| Immediate Goal | Progress as of October 26, 2018 |
| Reduce injection drug use. Cut down demand for drugs. | Interdisciplinary teams are being coordinated to engage the population in the target area. |
| Create and strengthen existing safe corridor routes for travel to and from school. | Five schools have been identified for a pilot program. Effort will begin with Elkin Elementary School, which will be fully implemented within three weeks. |
| Increase safety measures for children using foot and bike patrols, plus daily school checks. | There is an immediate need for safety measures during Halloween. Multiple Police Districts are hosting community events on October 26 and October 30. PPD will add an additional 20 foot officers during Trick or Treat. |
| Implement Police-Assisted Diversion (PAD) program in East Police Division. | A PAD provider has been identified and the program is on track to begin on November 15. |
| Support the operation of removing the encampment on November 15. | Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) assisted with posting signs to support the encampment closure.
PPD has devoted resources to support this effort. |
| Mission 3: Reduce Unsheltered Population | |
| Immediate Goal | Progress as of October 26, 2018 |
| Identify a temporary site for a 24-hour Navigation Center including respite and wrap-around services | Work continues to identify a site. |
| Create a budget and determine the cost to stand up a Navigation Center. | A budget proposal for a Navigation Center has been created and is awaiting Finance review. |
| Create a by-name list of unsheltered persons in the area and redeploy community outreach resources to ensure
that the mission area is reaching as much of the target population as possible. |
There is currently a by-name list for Frankford and Emerald encampments. A by-name list for the Kensington area is in development and Homeless Outreach teams have adjusted their shift schedules to achieve this goal. The next Point-in-Time count is scheduled for November 14. |
| Develop a strategy to bring in public and health services. | A budget proposal for a Navigation Center with wrap around services has been developed and is awaiting Finance review. |
| Identify a provider to operate the Short-term Navigation Center | A provider with a positive track record of operating large- scale shelters has been tentatively identified. Efforts continue to secure a provider for treatment options and programs. |
| Mission 4: Reduce Trash and Litter | |
| Immediate Goal | Progress as of October 26, 2018 |
| Conduct a large scale clean-up along Kensington Ave on November 2. | Planning meeting was held on October 25 to identify roles and responsibilities for the clean up which is scheduled on November 2. CLIP has identified seven properties to focus on doors and windows property work and a follow up planning meeting is scheduled for October 31. |
| Place needle drop boxes at McPherson Square and targeted SEPTA stations. | Seven needle drop boxes were installed on October 25. An additional drop box is pending install. |
| Provide a temporary dumpster to support Frankford Avenue encampment closure. | A dumpster has been ordered and a proposed site has been identified. |
| Recruit volunteers with lived experience to assist with regular clean ups. | Volunteers are being recruited through community outreach and a BBQ for volunteers is scheduled for November 2. |
| Use bicycles for mobile collection of discarded syringes. | A new group called KIND (Kensington Initiative for Needle Disposal) will be present at the upcoming cleanup and continue to dispose discarded syringes and other drug paraphernalia on a regular basis in the community. |
| 311 will establish a local informational and complaint line (pod) specifically for this operation. | The bilingual 311 pod is operational as of October 26. |
| Mission 5: Reduce Overdoses | |
| Immediate Goal | Progress as of October 26, 2018 |
| Prevent outbreak of Hepatitis A among homeless individuals and injection drug users in the Kensington area. | Testing and vaccination program has started around the encampments. As of October 25, 143 people received a Hepatitis A vaccine and 132 people received a flu vaccine. |
| Prevent transmission of HIV infection through injection drug use. | Education and testing has increased around test sites. |
| Create risk-based model for identifying individuals who have experienced previous overdose and are at highest risk for a subsequent overdose so they can be referred for services. | This is in development. |
| Implement name-based data sharing and/or reporting of non-fatal overdoses and opioid-related risk conditions, so that highest-risk individuals can be referred for services by November 16. | A data-sharing agreement has been drafted and requires additional review by Law which has been scheduled. |
| Mission 6: Increase Treatment Options and Access | |
| Immediate Goal | Progress as of October 26, 2018 |
| Disseminate information on treatment access. | Hosted ten events to provide treatment information. |
| Deploy mobile outreach team including medical professionals to provide Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) in the field. | During the week of October 15, five mobile outreach teams were at the Frankford encampment. Individual medical professionals were present three days. |
| Coordinate with Community Forgiveness and Restoration Program at Temple. | The first workshop is scheduled to begin on October 27. |
| Facilitate access to treatment from bridges with reserved Kirkbride beds. | During week of October 15, two Kirkbride beds were used. |
| Launch treatment capacity database. | Data entry training was conducted on October 22 and a program is scheduled to launch on October 31. |
| Expand warm hand-offs for treatment access across the system by December 31. | As of October 20, 84 warm handoffs to behavioral health treatment were accomplished. |
| Mission 7: Mobilize Community Response | |
| Immediate Goal | Progress as of October 26, 2018 |
| Create a community calendar to highlight meetings, trainings, clean ups, big public events, paint days, and other programming. | A draft of the community calendar exists and will be publicly available at phila.gov/opioids by November 2. |
| Identify potential funding partners and engage an external fundraiser. | Engaging a fundraising partner is underway and is expected to be complete within 30-45 days. |
| Create and train Philly311 unit for specialized Kensington/Fairhill information and assignments. | Kensington 311 pod is operational as of October 26 and is operating in both English and Spanish. |
| Direct engagement with Kensington/Fairhill community. | This is ongoing. Convened El Barrio es Nuestro community meeting on October 23 at McPherson Square Library. |
| Create a volunteer sign up form. | This is complete as of October 26 and can be accessed HERE. |
| Create targeted information and resources for neighborhood leaders. | Block captains are being engaged in the upcoming clean up on Nov. 2. Those who live in close proximity to the clean up route will be receive information by October 31 about how they can participate. |
| Create promotional materials to share at libraries, rec centers, schools, and throughout the community. | Posters and flyers will be distributed among neighborhood businesses, community organizations, public spaces, and residents over the coming days to increase awareness about the Nov. 2 clean up. |
| Ensure all materials are understandable and meet other Access and Functional Needs (AFN) requirements. | In addition to preparing bilingual materials, we’ve focused on reducing the literacy level for all of our written communications. |
| Increase frequency of communication to residents providing status of the Philadelphia Resilience Project. | Weekly emails continue and we are determining which other targeted methods of communication will be deployed. |
