Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order Tuesday unveiling a new wellness court and wellness support in Kensington. City officials said the initiative is designed to get people suffering from addiction into treatment rather than a jail.
Parker’s executive order will give the Philadelphia Police Department the option to give drug users the lowest charge — a summary offense — and fast-track them to a judge without spending days or weeks in a jail cell.
“This has never happened in the City of Philadelphia before,” Parker said. “The Kensington Wellness Support Center and Wellness Court are part of our comprehensive strategy to restore community and improve the quality of life and no longer attempt to normalize the challenges that exist there.”
Parker claimed the “status quo is not acceptable” in her administration.
Where is the Kensington Neighborhood Wellness Court and Wellness Support Center?
The Kensington Neighborhood Wellness Court (NWC)and Wellness Support Center will be located at 3901 Whitaker Ave, inside the 24th and 25th police district station house
“We can treat those folks with dignity and decency,” Adam Geer, Philadelphia’s chief public safety director, said, “and we can also continue to reinforce that the community deserves to be delivered from the trauma of living in an open-air drug market.”
Philadelphia opened the Riverview Wellness Center next to the city’s jail complex in Holmesburg earlier this month.
What is the NWC and Wellness Support Center?
Parker and other city leaders said the wellness court aims to get people into treatment while cleaning up the neighborhood.
Under the program, Philadelphia police officers have the option to charge people committing open drug use with a summary offense. They can then be fast-tracked to the wellness court to have warrant issues cleared and diverted into a treatment program instead of spending days or weeks in jail.
“It gives us the capacity to not only engage the people that are suffering,” Deputy Commissioner Pedro Rosario said, “but more importantly, be able to do something expeditiously.”
Those who complete treatment would then have their case withdrawn and expunged from their record.
In a statement, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said his office “fully supports criminologically sound, evidence-based approaches to address addiction that save lives, stop the spread of disease, reduce addiction, and improve the quality of life for everyone in and around Kensington. … We are hopeful that, as Wellness Court starts and evolves, it will save lives, reduce addiction and benefit us all.”
What are some of the concerns over the program?
Some have expressed concerns with the program. In a December letter, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU) said the court would treat people in Kensington differently.
Another concern about the pilot program is that for now, it only operates on Wednesdays.
“If someone is arrested on Thursday, they won’t be arrested for a summary,” Geer said. “They’re going to be arrested for a misdemeanor that’s on the books. That’s part of why we understand that folks are being treated better that Wednesday. They have a better shot on that Wednesday when that summary offense coming in. And that’s why we want to move as expeditiously as we can to the five days.”
Rosario, who leads Parker’s Kensington initiative, claimed police have other tools to use.
“We’re able to deflect certain individuals with certain low-level issues with the criminal justice system,” Rosario said, “and be able to push them into services for recovery.”
Parker and others admitted the plan will likely face hurdles and criticism, but they said they’re trying to do things differently in a neighborhood with longstanding challenges.
“No, we are not arresting our way out of this,” Councilmember Quetcy Lozada said, “and we’re going to keep on moving forward.”
Philadelphia mayor addresses misspelled Eagles chant
On Sunday, before Philadelphia was slammed with snow and the Eagles punched their ticket to the NFC championship game, Parker held a press conference with city officials to discuss storm preparations.
Parker ended Sunday’s press conference by calling travel to the Eagles-Rams game at Lincoln Financial Field “essential travel.”
“Let me be one thousand and one percent clear,” Parker said, “traveling to the Eagles game today is essential travel. If you are driving, just go slow. But get there. If you are catching SEPTA and mass transit, just get on mass transit and get there. But making it to our Philadelphia Eagles game on today is essential.
“Well, listen, we’ve got to do this. Let me hear you all say, ‘E-L-G-S-E-S, Eagles!’ Let’s go Birds.”
After signing the executive order Tuesday, Parker found a way to address the blunder.
“We don’t promise perfection. I’m so happy I never have, especially after I couldn’t spell Eagles right,” Parker said. “However, I do want to say that, at least, you have to have the courage and the gumption to try to do what has never been done to fix a problem that, quite frankly, did not just start when I got elected to public office last year.
“But has been compounded and compounded and compounded by folks,” Parker added. “I’m talking about those of us who are elected to public office, who are supposed to proffer solutions and fixes, but they were paralyzed into inaction by fear of being criticized, that whatever decision that was they would make, somebody would be upset about it. Won’t happen.”
SOURCE: cbsnews.com