Months ago, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said, “Listen to what I say, then watch what I do.” She wasn’t kidding when she said that. People around the nation and around the world have seen social media posts about drug abusers, drug dealers, homeless people, and others going through rough times on the streets of Kensington. I’m not here to make fun of anyone or laugh at someone’s drug or alcohol crisis. It’s an ugly thing, and from all I’ve been taught, beating a drug addiction is no easy fete. Most important in that process is having a made-up mind. The drug addict has to want to get clean.
Mayor Cherelle Parker has basically said enough already with the living in tents on sidewalks, relieving oneself outside in the public. Sticking needles in your arms and or smoking crack for all to see just had to stop.
Given the fact that our Mayor has only been in office for five months, she’s made a major impact on fixing a very bad problem in Kensington. We’ve witnessed cleanups in Kensington before. But this time, I believe, and I know the people of that community who have lived there for years in the houses circling Kensington and Frankford Avenue are good people who work hard and simply want to live a decent life.
And yet, even with the progress that became tangible on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, when the city rolled in with the Streets and Sanitation Department, the Philadelphia Police Department, and a bunch of resource workers to assist the people living on the street in Kensington in encampments, the naysayers were talking about this wasn’t a good plan, this clean sweep concept is doomed to fail.
Good leaders listen to the people. Good leaders also have to make tough decisions (at times) when everybody in the room is not going to be happy.
Thank goodness for organizations such as Self, Inc.
In response to the recent clearance of the encampment in Kensington, SELF Inc.’s Ife Wellness Center at 801 West Girard Avenue has opened its doors to provide shelter, support, and resources to those displaced.
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