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YOUR HEROES FOR THE HOMELESS
NOMINATE YOUR HEROES
FOR THE HOMELESS
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Help us spread the word that even in tough times, great things are possible — and they’re happening every day! One Step Away is now accepting nominations for the 10th Annual Steppy Awards, honoring those working to end homelessness.
There are so many community members who make the world around them a better place, with little recognition and few thanks. The Steppy Awards are our opportunity to shine the spotlight on those who work tirelessly to assist, inspire, and champion for people in need. But we need your help! We rely on your nominations of coworkers, friends, mentors or just people you notice doing good work in the community who deserve special recognition. This is your opportunity to show appreciation. Please tell us who you think deserves special acknowledgment this year.
I’D LIKE TO NOMINATE...
NOMINEE FOR HEROES FOR THE HOMELESS:
Name ______________________________________________ Organization _______________________________________ Position ____________________________________________ Phone _____________________________________________ Email _______________________________________________ Reason for nomination _______________________________
NOMINATED BY:
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NOMINATE YOUR HERO ONLINE: SURVEYMONKEY.COM/R/HEROES2020 OR MAIL THIS SLIP TO:
As Mayor Kenney entered his second term, he laid out plans for Philadelphia’s growth. From education to jobs to biotech — even submitting a big to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Philadelphia — his initiatives cross all sectors and attempt to uplift all Philadelphians.
Mayor Kenney’s Second Term Plans
On February 11, 2020 Mayor Kenney hosted his fifth annual Mayoral Luncheon for 1,300 members of Greater Philadelphia’s business community. He began: “In 2016, we embarked on a mission to tackle some of Philadelphia’s biggest challenges — a struggling public education system, intergenerational poverty, public health crises, gun violence, an inequitable criminal justice system, and much more.” At the luncheon the Mayor spoke about his second term plans and his Administration’s top priorities. His focuses include spurring economic growth, attracting new businesses and tourists to the city, and moving toward a future in AI, bio-medics, and technology. But unlike other cities investing in the future, Philly’s plan has a twist — to create equality and equity for all Philadelphians. As the Administration looks at the homelessness and housing crises in San Francisco and Seattle, cities that experienced recent and significant economic boosts, Mayor Kenney says he wants to ensure any growth serves the residents of Philadelphia. “When I became Mayor, my goal was clear — to increase equity and opportunity so all Philadelphians, regardless of their zip code, can reach their full potential,” stated Mayor Kenney. His five priorities attempt to bring everyone to the table and involves stakeholders from all sectors. At the Mayoral Luncheon, Mayor Kenney stressed that no one sector can tackle the intergenerational poverty and issues Philadelphians face alone. Other keynote speakers of the luncheon echoed his sentiments, including: Rob Wonderling, President & CEO, Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia; David Cohen, Senior Executive Vice President, Comcast Corporation; Daniel Hilferty, CEO, Independence Health Group, and Chairman, The Chamber’s Board of Directors. The message is clear: we need to come together to move all residents ahead. This inclusive economic growth, as the Mayor calls it, requires the public and private sectors to work together to benefit all Philadelphians. He also recognizes the need for government advocacy: both at the local level and with representatives in Harrisburg. So how does the Mayor’s Administration plan to move all Philadelphians into the 21st Century and beyond? Through his top five priorities.
Mayor Kenney’s Top Five Priorities:
Photo Credits from Cover and Page 3: Philadelphia City Hall. Leo Serrat, Unsplash. From left to right: Page 7: City Hall at Night, Philadelphia, Gibson Hurst, Unsplash. Mayor Kenney Luncheon, February 11, 2020. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Samantha Madera. Page 8: School Progress Report Celebration, February 10, 2020. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Samantha Madera. Philadelphia Fashion District Launch, September 2019. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Albert Lee. Page 9: Police Commissioner Outlaw Appointment Press Conference, December 30, 2019. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Samantha Madera. Visit to Rawnhurst School, March 2019. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Samantha Madera. Page 10: Benjamin Franklin Schoolyard Opening Celebration, February 10, 2019. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Samantha Madera. Fishtown Rebuild Ribbon Cutting, July 23, 2019. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Page 11: Benjamin Franklin Schoolyard Opening Celebration, February 10, 2019. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Samantha Madera.
Creating a safer and more just Philadelphia.
The Mayor’s first priority, creating a safer and more just Philadelphia, focuses on lowering violence — especially gun violence. According to Philadelphia Police District data by the end of 2019, Philadelphia experienced 1,435 gun shootings. That year, 355 victims died due to homicide, Philadelphia’s highest number since 2007. As of February 23, 2020, this rate is up 23 percent with 53 homicide victims since the beginning of 2020. “Any life lost to gun violence is one that could have been prevented…”, said the Mayor. “That is why we are moving with urgency to implement our violence prevention strategy — combining proven data-driven and community-informed approaches that have successfully reduced violence in other major cities.” The plan calls on residents, community organizations, and criminal justice partners to work together to lower gun violence, improve community-police relations, and create a more equitable criminal justice system. Philadelphia’s new Police Commissioner, Danielle Outlaw (pictured above), will lead public safety efforts working with the community, police, businesses, and government. However, the Mayor admits, they cannot solve the issue of public safety on their own. He urged the business community to create the opportunities needed to reduce violence. “As you know, one of the best ways to combat violence is through opportunity — through education, training, and jobs,” Mayor Kenney said. The last piece of the plan is advocating for common-sense gun reform legislation in Harrisburg. His goal, “to get guns, especially assault weapons, off the streets of Philadelphia.”
Quality education for all.
In his first term, Mayor Kenney introduced the PHLpreK program providing free, quality pre-K to more than 6,000 kids and their families. Additionally, the City took back local control of the School District from Harrisburg, creating a Philadelphia School Board. His new plans expand on this success by focusing on providing quality education from pre-K to post-secondary schooling for all Philadelphians. “Investing in the future generation of Philadelphians is the only way we can break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and ensure that our employers have a talent pool they can tap into as they grow,” said Mayor Kenney. To do this, the Administration is investing $1.2 billion in school funding over the next five years to grow the PHLpreK program and create 20 Community Schools. As a community, he asks us to change the narrative that Philadelphia has “bad schools” and “be a part of the progress.” This progress to improve public education includes safe facilities, smart investments, and a focus on student success. This school year, six public schools closed due to asbestos, lead, and mold issues. According to WHYY, the School District’s own 2017 study into school building hazards estimated a cost of $5 billion to fully clean-up and modernize Philadelphia’s school buildings — which have an average age of 70 years. Joining with the Chamber of Commerce, the Administration wants to secure funds from Harrisburg for capital improvements to keep schools safe and clean. In order to help Philadelphians compete in the job market and gain the credentials and degrees needed to work for businesses in Philadelphia, the Administration is helping more high school students plan for college and allowing more residents to attend Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) tuition-free. With increased resources for books, transportation, and childcare, the Mayor hopes more students can attain a higher education to prepare them for future careers.
Cleaner and safer streets
“In the second term, we will change the Filthadelphia narrative once and for all,” stated Mayor Kenney. The Administration plans to expand street sweeping to every neighborhood by 2023. Expansion of the program will include looking at parking on alternate sides of the street, utilizing mechanical brooms, and more manual techniques on smaller streets, states the City. Additionally, the Mayor committed to $200 million over six years to repaving and repairing roadways. A third paving crew will be added to pave over 131 miles per year across all neighborhoods by 2023. The Administration is also working to upgrade curb ramps throughout the city to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. To improve safety on all streets, the Mayor supports the Vision Zero Action Plan, which hopes to eliminate traffic fatalities in Philadelphia by 2030. The plan will accelerate focus on pedestrian and child traffic safety in partnership with Families for Safer Streets of Greater Philadelphia and the National Center for Safe Routes to School. As part of the Vision Zero Action Plan, the Administration is committed to creating a high quality bike network. With the Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia and City Council, the Administration will work to deliver 40 miles of protected bike lanes by 2025, adding to the 5.2 miles of protected bike lanes the Administration already built. Finally, the Mayor wants to improve transit by supporting SEPTA’s redesign of the bus network. According to the Mayor’s Office, 163 million people ride the bus system each year. Whereas 150 million people ride the trolley, regional rail, and subway lines combined. To improve the daily life of residents and visitors, the Mayor wants to make the bus network reliable, affordable, and attractive. With SEPTA, they plan on decreasing duplicated and excess lines while increasing connection opportunities so riders can get where they need to go faster and more reliably. Over the next four years, the Administration plans to transform the bus network by adding and improving bus priority lanes.
Inclusive and resilient neighborhoods
To create inclusive and resilient neighborhoods, the Administration is dedicated to investing in people, places, and businesses. The Chamber’s Neighborhood Growth Project and Roadmap for Growth initiatives will extend economic growth beyond Center City while ensuring increased opportunities for Philadelphians. The City is committed to providing better customer service for constituents and businesses. As part of their Inclusive Growth Strategy announced last year, the Administration will partner with the Chamber of Commerce to create a sector-based approach to economic development. This approach will support specific industries that are predicted to be in high demand in the future. Kenney stressed his Administration is “pro-growth,” but committed to applying “a lens of inclusion and equity to align this approach with workforce opportunities for our residents who need them most.” The City continues to implement changes to make it easier to do business in Philadelphia. The City Council passed sixteen bills to repeal parts of the Philadelphia Code that were outdated and cut down on red tape to help businesses. In addition to attracting national and international companies to Philadelphia, the Administration wants to grow local businesses. They’ve partnered with the United Way expanding current resources to support small businesses and diverse entrepreneurs. Workforce Development is another key strategy in the Mayor’s plan of creating inclusive and resilient neighborhoods. At the luncheon,
the Mayor called on businesses to increase employee wages to a family living standard. His Quality Jobs Program will launch later this year and will provide grants to employers who provide jobs that pay a family-sustaining wage and include employee benefits like health care. “Last year...I spoke about how Pennsylvania’s $7.25 minimum wage is the lowest among all neighboring states. Sadly, it still is. For eleven years, it has remained unchanged,” said Mayor Kenney. He urged businesses to commit to a $15 minimum wage, before stating that the City is leading by example guaranteeing a $15 minimum wage to all City workers and contractors by 2023. Mayor Kenney continued his resolve for a $15 minimum wage: “I also urge you to continue imploring Harrisburg to increase the minimum wage for the entire state — it’s long overdue.” By raising minimum wage, the Mayor hopes to show workers they are valued, help them provide for their families, and help them directly contribute to growing Philadelphia’s economy. Finally, the Mayor believes it is essential to invest in places to drive economic growth. He identifies neighborhood commercial corridors, housing, infrastructure, and public spaces as key areas for investment. The Department of Commerce has dedicated $2.1 million to improve commercial corridors and $1.6 million for nearly 700 businesses to install security cameras since the start of his first term. The Commerce Department’s International Business Development team is dedicated to increasing Philadelphia’s global connections — elevating our city’s presence around the world to grow our economy. To grow globally and locally, airlines are investing in new flights out of the Philadelphia International Airport. Locally, the Rebuild Initiative, made possible by the Beverage Tax, is working on 60 projects, investing $120 million in high-need neighborhoods. Rebuild will improve our parks, recreation centers, playgrounds, and libraries. And through innovative public-private partnerships the Administration created Shared Public Spaces and Philly Cares. Philly Cares is a fund supported by businesses and the hospitality industry offering resources to get people off the streets and into housing. Although securing affordable housing is still an issue many Philadelphians face, the Mayor hopes more publicprivate partnerships will be able to address the city’s affordable housing shortage. “We are a great city, and we can be even greater by working collaboratively to address our challenges.”
Diverse, efficient, and effective local government
Mayor Kenney wants to continue to move Philadelphia into a new era. To make the city more dynamic and diverse — with a stronger than ever economy. His Administration plans on building on Philadelphia’s current financial stability. They will modernize Philadelphia’s services, already they have updated many of our city’s websites, increased transparency, and worked from a data-driven and informed policy approach. Mayor Kenney wants to prioritize customer service, continue to diversify the City’s workforce and contracts, and build racial equality into all city policies and services. Most importantly, the Mayor wants all of us, regardless of sector or neighborhood, to join together to build Philadelphia. Optimistic for the future, Mayor Kenney concluded the luncheon with these parting words: “Let’s keep building on our successes together. Our neighbors are counting on us, and the prosperity of our city depends on it.” So it is up to all of us, to join together, to uplift all Philadelphians and move our city forward. Will you join? What do you think of the plan? Let us know @OSAphilly or osa@rhd.org. Learn more at phila.gov.
