Letters to the Editor | May 15, 2023

It is disappointing news that City Council members want to ban supervised injection sites in about half the city. One thing missing from the conversation is: Do safe injection sites work? Vancouver’s site has supervised over 3.6 million injections, responded to over 6,000 overdoses, and averted more than 50 deaths. It did not increase drug usage, the fatal overdose rate decreased in the area around the site, and, in fact, clients were more likely to start drug treatment programs than people that did not use the facility. Supervised injection sites save lives and start the process of breaking drug addiction. Effectiveness is the only important thing to consider here. With the broad daylight shooting up in Kensington, something must change. Supervised injection sites provide an evidenced-based path from use to recovery.

Jayson Massey, Philadelphia

While we celebrated Pennsylvania moms on Sunday, there are also birthing people who wish to be future parents but lack equal access to culture-centered care that can be life or death for parent and child: doula care. More than 105,000 women in the state between 18 and 44 years of age have limited or no access to maternity care, and 19 counties have hospitals without obstetrics services. These disparities contribute to the higher maternal mortality rates communities of color face compared with their white counterparts. Studies show that doula care during pregnancy leads to healthier outcomes, such as shorter labor and no need for a cesarean procedure. This is leading to policy action: federal grants for doula pilots, proposed legislation, and the perinatal doula certification program that the Pennsylvania Doula Commission is leading. A subsidy is available for those who qualify to help doulas access health-care markets under Medicaid, to reach communities in need and be reimbursed for services. So far, the partnership has certified seven doulas. We hope to reach more, as representation from all counties is required by the Department of Human Services.

Aleta Heard, vice president, Pennsylvania Doula Commission, Williamsport

I am 91 years old and have been attending Philadelphia Orchestra concerts since I was 15. I have seen Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, and many other conductors. Yannick Nézet-Séguin is the most accomplished of them all. He is smart, funny, amiable — he’s a mensch. I attended the May 6 concert when Nézet-Séguin had to stop twice to chide the audience for making noise. I have never seen any conductor do that. The Philadelphia Orchestra is a world-class symphony with a world-class maestro at its helm. Both deserve the attention and respect of the audience. The conduct of the audience is just a symptom of a much more serious and pervasive problem in our society: the lack of civility. Mass murders, insurrections, and frequent antisemitic incidents are only a few examples of the lack of civility. It is time for our citizenry to wake up and exercise some common courtesy, and show respect for our fellow human beings.

Sheldon Seligsohn, Philadelphia

I received an email from the Anti-Defamation League’s national director, Jonathan Greenblatt, expressing relief over having induced House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to block a Nakba Day event planned by Rep. Rashida Tlaib and other organizations that he believes have a record of antisemitic rhetoric, claiming it would demonize and delegitimize Israel. The ADL does not speak for me and many American Jews when it continues to conflate legitimate criticism of Israel’s oppression and violence against Palestinians with antisemitism. I am particularly distressed to see Greenblatt’s characterization of an educational program about Nakba Day as an expression of hate, and his endorsement of McCarthy’s “cancellation” to block Palestinian voices from being heard. The ADL’s continued perpetuation of an entirely one-sided narrative of Israel’s victimhood undermines the safety and security of Israel and Jews around the world. As Jews, it is incumbent on us to recognize the humanity and rights of all people, including Palestinians. For that reason, I will be marking Nakba Day by watching the Joint Nakba Ceremony organized by Combatants for Peace along with a multifaith group of the Philadelphia chapter of the American Friends of Combatants for Peace. The Nakba is not only an event that occurred in 1948 but is ongoing, in the continuing cycle of violence and oppression of the occupation, and the systemic discrimination in Israel proper. Combatants for Peace shows that there is another way forward where Israelis and Palestinians refuse to be enemies.

Sandy Lieberman, Elkins Park

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will seek George Santos’ resignation only if he is convicted. It is woeful that lawmakers will act against a man who misrepresented his way into Congress only after a criminal trial. Career federal employees can be removed for less serious action based upon only a preponderance of evidence. Santos deserves no more. He is receiving kid-glove treatment because of the narrow GOP House majority. The GOP would be gathering pine tar and feathers if Santos were a Democrat. The argument that expulsion usurps the role of voters is a no-go. Voters in Santos’s district want him gone now. The House may punish members for disorderly behavior. McCarthy’s failure to press Santos’ resignation shows a disregard for ethics, honesty, good government, the institution, and the country. He and his addled confederacy are a threat to democracy.

Stewart Speck, Ardmore, speckstewart@gmail.com

In Pennsylvania, you can walk into a gun store and buy a firearm (or more) within minutes. You can carry it openly in almost every part of the commonwealth without needing any safety training. You don’t have to store it safely. You don’t have to report it if it is stolen. This lack of requirements is seen as freedom. You are “free” to double the risk of homicide and triple the risk of suicide. More than 70% of firearms used in youth suicide, unintentional shootings by children, and by under-18 school shooters are acquired from the homes of relatives and friends. More than 4.6 million minors live in a home with firearms that aren’t stored safely. In Pennsylvania, proposed legislation would require gun owners to store their firearms securely, something responsible gun owners already do. Even though Congress seems paralyzed, states can take steps to reduce gun violence. Let your state legislator know how you feel.

Judith Inskeep, Gwynedd

Philadelphians can set the city on a different path for the next four years when we choose a new mayor on Tuesday. With each ballot, we tell candidates our priorities, where we want to invest, and how we want to be engaged as constituents. As leaders of the Kids Campaign, a coalition of 80-plus child-serving groups in the city, we ask you to vote for a candidate who will prioritize children and youth when they govern, especially as they launch plans to end gun violence.

Any viable public safety plan must remedy the chronic disinvestment in young people that led us to this point. A public safety plan that does not make kids feel SECURE is putting a Band-Aid on an open wound. Philly kids need Safety, Education, Careers, Uplift, Recreation, and a healthy Environment. Without that, they are bereft of opportunities. Their limited options might take them down a path of violence, or propel them away from Philly. What losses of talent.

On May 16, we can turn this around. We can choose a mayor who understands the through line between disinvestment in children and our current public safety crisis. We can choose a mayor with the know-how and willpower to center kids throughout their term.

The Kids Campaign has gotten mayoral candidates to commit to what they’ll do for kids when they’re elected.

Before you cast your vote, look at the candidates’ engagement with our campaign (thekidscampaign.org). Who returned a questionnaire, and what did they say? Who talked to after-school program providers and early childhood educators? Who actually answered questions from students involved in the Kids Debate, and who engaged their concerns?

Judge for yourself who will be the mayor for kids, and on May 16, vote for Philly’s kids.

Donna Cooper, Children First PA, David Fair, Turning Points for Children, and Wendy-Anne Roberts-Johnson, Philadelphia Youth Network

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