Kensington harm reduction groups are at risk | Morning Newsletter

We made it to Friday.

Expect sunny skies and a breeze throughout the day, with a high near 42. And if your area was largely snubbed by Tuesday’s snow, more, evidently, is on the way. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for 2 to 4 inches of snow early Saturday.

More Philadelphians died of overdoses in 2022 than ever before, and Kensington has long been burdened by the crisis. But a harm reduction group that provides important services to the community is set to lose its storefront, and a City Council member wants another one to pack its bags, too. Our lead story covers the ongoing conflict between City Hall and these organizations, and what’s at risk if the groups are pushed out of the community.

— Paola Pérez (@pdesiperez, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Savage Sisters, a small nonprofit that provides harm reduction services in Kensington, lost its lease after City Councilmember Quetcy Lozada urged the group’s landlord to not renew it. Lozada said funding for Prevention Point, a larger nonprofit, could also be in jeopardy soon.

“I have serious concerns about Prevention Point and about how they have negatively affected the community,” said Lozada, whose district includes parts of Kensington. “If I have any say, they will not be in the community.”

Lozada said residents complain that they attract drug users to the neighborhood. But harm reduction advocates pushed back, saying hampering their ability to operate could have dire health impacts, including drug overdoses and disease proliferation.

What the groups do: Prevention Point, which provided services to 36,000 people last year, runs the city’s oldest needle exchange. They also offer HIV care and testing, meals, clothing, drug treatment, restrooms, overdose prevention training, and housing support. Savage Sisters, which has operated its storefront for two years, provides showers and wound care. The group also runs several recovery homes around the city.

A community in crisis: The near-billion-dollar drug industry means hundreds of people live on Kensington’s streets. Many are addicted to heroin, fentanyl, and xylazine or “tranq,” which can leave open wounds where it’s injected. Residents of the long-burdened neighborhood are majority Black and Latino, and the area has higher rates of poverty than other sections of the city.

Stricter enforcement: The threat from Lozada to attempt to shut down or kneecap harm reduction groups in Kensington comes amid a broader push to crack down on the neighborhood’s open-air drug market. Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel said this week that stricter enforcement of drug crimes in the neighborhood could begin as early as this spring.

Keep reading about the ongoing clash between local officials and the organizations trying to help people on Kensington’s streets.

Donald Mueller, CEO of St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, stepped down this week as state regulators demand improvement from the troubled Philadelphia hospital.

Catch up quick: St. Christopher’s has been operating under a temporary license since last July because the hospital failed two inspections when safety, sanitation, and patient privacy issues were discovered.

Mueller’s role: Mueller took the job in 2020, but did not permanently move to Philadelphia and worked much of the time from his home in Tennessee. The Inquirer previously reported that Mueller was ordered to be in the city five days a week. State inspectors have repeatedly blamed safety lapses at the hospital on Mueller’s absence.

A critical resource: The hospital serves North Philadelphia neighborhoods with families experiencing high rates of childhood asthma, obesity, and behavioral health issues, and often have few other places to turn to for care.

Keep reading on the hospital in flux as it grapples with the leadership transition.

The concept for Honeygrow began in Justin Rosenberg’s home kitchen. More than a decade and 40 locations later, Rosenberg still keeps his chef shoes in his car and gets behind the wok.

In his own words: “I don’t want to be the CEO and founder that’s watching and yelling,” said Rosenberg, who, in addition to running the company’s business operations, still develops recipes at Honeygrow’s 11th Street location.

Rosenberg’s efforts have paid off. The Philly-based company recorded its most profitable year in 2023, a 30% increase from the year before. Compare that to 2020, when the pandemic struck and the fast casual eatery’s sales dropped by about 75%.

The majority of their sales are stir-fries made with noodles specifically developed for the company and served in cardboard takeout boxes.

Today, Rosenberg says the business is poised for growth — now it’s all about figuring out how to keep up the progress.

Continue reading for The Inquirer’s interview with Rosenberg as he reflects on challenges, investing in workers, and what’s in store for the company.

On this week’s episode of their New Heights podcast, Jason and Travis Kelce said the man to go to for a good fade is Philly’s own Pat Regan.

Which of the following football stars has also gotten their hair cut at Patty’s Cuts?

A) George Odum of the San Francisco 49ers

B) Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs

C) Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens

D) Gabe Davis of the Buffalo Bills

Think you know? Check your answer.

📰 Reading: Helen Ubiñas’ column on the potential conflict of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker hiring spouses of City Hall insiders.

🏒 Asking: If any hard-core Flyers fans out there think they can name all 20 team captains in our quiz.

🤔 Wondering: Are emojis confusing to you? Studies show the older we get, the less we understand them. Drop a comment here and we may reach out — it’s for a story!

Hint: This Philly-founded company will debut its flagship bakery at its new Center City HQ this weekend.

CAKE MIOSIS ONION

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Olatunji Coleman, who correctly guessed Thursday’s answer: girl dinner. And a bonus shout-out to Carol Basile, who came through with an excellent example of how she would use it in a sentence: “I stopped at 711 on the way for my Girl Dinner. No, I don’t feel guilty about that.”

That’s it for now. I’ll probably stay up tonight to catch the first flakes falling. Stay warm, be safe, and have a great weekend.

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