Say asomething short and sweet here

Long before I was a Councilmember, I founded a grassroots organizing project called Stand Up Nicetown to stop the shootings in my neighborhood, and community safety remains a top priority for me now that I hold elected office. It’s why I joined with my fellow City Councilmembers to urge Mayor Kenney to make a citywide emergency declaration on gun violence and it’s why I fought for a Youth Powered Agenda in the budget to direct $50 million in funding to the young people who live in the neighborhoods most impacted by gun violence.

As a trained restorative justice facilitator, I know that disrupting cycles of harm is only possible if we address the underlying issues that drive most violent incidents: mental health crises, substance abuse disorder, trauma, and deep poverty concentrated in a small handful of Black and Brown neighborhoods. In addition to grassroots anti-violence programming, community investments, youth programming, and trauma-informed mental health services, I remain a strong advocate for a harm reduction, public-health focused approach to the opioid crisis, because we know from experience that the Drug War does nothing to help those who are struggling with addiction. Overdose deaths among Black Philadelphians have risen by 70% since 2018.

Addiction is a disease and should be treated as such, not used to fuel the mass incarceration machine.  I remain a strong advocate for harm reduction approaches to address the opioid crisis, including overdose prevention centers, decreasing barriers to treatment, and increasing services that are proven to heal our communities, clean up our neighborhoods, and save lives. It’s not easy, but together we can heal the social divisions that spark violence, equip our young people with conflict mediation strategies and job opportunities, and create safety that we can feel in every zip code.