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‘It's a conversation': Philly's alternative to landlord-tenant court is preventing eviction

Taylor Allen

November 24, 2020 |

WHYY |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia's mandatory Eviction Diversion program, started as a way to help landlords and tenants to cope with pandemic-related economic struggles, requires landlords to enter mediation with tenants who are behind on their rent. By skipping eviction court, the parties can work out repayment plans and tenants can gain access to rental-assistance programs. Mediated agreements avoid a legal judgment that would hurt a tenant's credit and make it difficult to find another place to live, while preventing evictions during the pandemic reduces homelessness.

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Community lending helps African businesses in Philly stay afloat during COVID-19

Miles Bryan

October 08, 2020 |

WHYY |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia's community of African business owners has created its own security net in the wake of the shutdown, which left many businesses closed or in debt. A traditional African system known as "susu" provided the mutual aid entrepreneurs needed to stay afloat. Susus provide an informal loan network in which members contribute regularly and take turns tapping into the group funds. During the lockdown, financial support was given to those participants who were most in need. The informal loan clubs were crucial to the owners who are typically immigrants and were denied federal aid at greater rates.

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Contact tracing for COVID-19 starts on a small scale in Philly

Nina Feldman

April 23, 2020 |

WHYY |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In Philadelphia, volunteers with the University of Pennsylvania have launched a small-scale effort in contact tracing, a method in which disease detectives track and monitor the interactions and movements of known infected people. Both time- and labor-intensive, contact tracing is most effective on the front end of an outbreak, when there are fewer cases. The university has trained a few dozen volunteers, though limited access to testing and violations of privacy remain concerns.

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Black doctors group brings COVID-19 testing to underserved neighborhoods

Katie Meyer

April 17, 2020 |

WHYY |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In Philadelphia, a group of Black doctors formed a medical team to address the Covid-19 testing disparity between different parts of the community. Known as the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, the group offers appointments and makes house calls to test community members for the virus. Although they currently have many volunteers helping, the group is limited by the amount of testing supplies they have on hand.

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Philly area mental health professionals offer free therapy for health care workers

Maiken Scott

March 22, 2020 |

WHYY |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

As counseling and therapy sessions increasingly move online in order to comply with national stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic, a group of mental healthcare professionals in Philadelphia are offering free mini-sessions to medical professionals who are on the frontlines. A number of provisions and protocols have been removed in order to make the transition to telehealth easier, which has helped allow for sessions to be booked and structured more efficiently for both the patient and the doctor.

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This rag-tag group of DIYers has an answer for rural PA's internet problem

Min Xian

March 03, 2020 |

WHYY |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania

The Rural Broadband Cooperative took matters into its own hands after local and state politicians failed to provide high-speed internet for their rural Pennsylvania county. Telecommunications companies did not consider Huntingdon County a priority so community members who include carpenters, welders, and crane operators all came together to find a solution for a problem that affected everyone from children to business owners and realized all they needed was a radio tower on a mountaintop. The group built and installed it themselves, spending only $50,000 and providing internet for 1,000 locals.

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The police experiment that changed what we know about foot patrol

Liz Tung

November 15, 2019 |

WHYY |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Of the three most notable experiments testing the effectiveness of police foot patrols at reducing crime, only one – the Philadelphia Foot Patrol Experiment – showed a significant reduction in violence, thanks to a three-month randomized controlled trial. By rethinking an old practice and infusing it with data-driven thinking about focusing on "hot spots," the Philadelphia brand of foot patrols debunked the myth that patrol might, at best, only improve community relations without having an effect on crime. But random car patrols, reacting mainly to radio calls, remains the dominant approach nationwide.

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Safety net program for Pa. women and children is switching out paper for plastic

Aaron Moselle

October 21, 2019 |

WHYY |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s WIC program, offering people experiencing economic hardship food stipends, is switching from paper checks to plastic cards. The seemingly small change will have a huge effect on how the benefits are used, allowing participants to be more flexible in where and how they spend the money. Such flexibility means more of an opportunity to buy healthier food and to use the entire stipend across a month, rather than having to spend it all in one place at one time.

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For non-swimmers, a chance to jump in the water and learn

Joel Wolfram

May 10, 2019 |

WHYY |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

To better serve all communities and increase safety for families, the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation is offering free swim lessons at community pools. Building off of the success of University of Pennsylvania's We Can Swim summer program which offers lessons to "Philadelphia children who might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn," the idea has already been deemed a success given the enrollment numbers.

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Black birth workers help moms struggling when — and after — the baby is born

Taylor Allen

April 24, 2019 |

WHYY |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

To better serve women of color during pregnancies and childbirth, women in Philadelphia have started offering workshops to teach about and advocate for increased understanding around the birthing experience. With statistics indicating that black women are more likely to experience complications during their pregnancies, these workshops address in a gap in care for "black women’s desires for alternative, and better, birth and postpartum experiences."

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