Philadelphia has disputed a state ruling that it should not have spent money from opioid-related legal settlements on home repairs and small businesses in an area ravaged by the drug epidemic.
Workers with Lyon Contracting Services install new windows in Tiffany's home in Kensington, a Philadelphia neighborhood that has been heavily impacted by the drug overdose epidemic. Free repairs at 400 homes in Kensington were paid for by settlement funds from opioid-related lawsuits. A Pennsylvania oversight board ruled that the repairs did not comply with guidelines on how the money should be spent.
Philadelphia received $20 million in settlement funds in 2023. Over a third of that pot, $7.5 million, was set aside specifically for Kensington, and divided into five"buckets" — for parks, schools, home repairs, rent relief, and support for small businesses.Upgrades and investments in these areas will improve the lives of Kensington families and children, according to community leaders and residents.
But others argue that addressing the root causes of addiction, such as local poverty and neglect, will help prevent future cycles of drug use and help affected neighborhoods rebuild. On Nov. 4, the city filed a challenge with the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, arguing the trust's ruling used"an impermissibly narrow reading of Exhibit E."
She expressed concern that her students might be stepping"over people that they think are dead in the street" due to overdoses.Signs that read"Sigue tus sueños" and"Nunca dejes de aprender" at Gloria Casarez Elementary School on Sept. 24, 2024. The school is using opioid settlement funds to expand its playground and build a therapy room for students coping with trauma, chronic stress and diagnoses like ADHD and autism.
At Scanlon Recreation Center, over half of the people surveyed requested a curling club at the park's ice rink, said Erin Farrell, a resident who works for the local nonprofit. Farrell helped the parks figure out how to spend the money. So the rec center Scanlon used the money to buy curling gear.is a 13-member board made up of state lawmakers, county health commissioners, mayoral staff members and alcohol and drug treatment program administrators.
He said his initial"no" vote in June was due to"a lack of knowledge" about the need to fund community resources for children.Rothman was not on the committee that heard Philadelphia's Oct. 3 appeal.
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