Title
Requesting the City Controller to conduct a performance audit on all allocations and funding distributed by the City in the Kensington area, and examine the policies and procedures of the recipients and their impact on the City of Philadelphia.
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WHEREAS, Kensington, a neighborhood in Philadelphia, has transformed into a hub for illicit drug activities, open-air drug markets and criminal offense; and
WHEREAS, The hazardous circumstances have led to a substantial surge in criminal activity, specifically substance abuse, overdose deaths, human trafficking, and narcotic sales. These dangerous conditions pose a threat to the safety and well-being of the residents in the Kensington area and to those who are conducting these activities; and
WHEREAS, To address these concerns, it was reported during the Kensington Marshall plan hearings, an estimated amount of $70 million dollars was invested in the Kensington area, to help address the Kensington crisis; and
WHEREAS, For fiscal year 2023, the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disabilities Services, Office of Homeless Services, and the Department of Public health had a combined budget of an estimated $2.6 billion dollars; and
WHERAS, The Kensington Community Resilience Fund, a public-private-community partnership between community members, City government, regional funders, and the Scattergood Foundation has awarded $760 thousand dollars for the past three years to address: public safety, youth development, workforce development and training, beautification and blight removal, connecting residents to resources and building resilience and addressing community trauma; and
WHERAS, According to a report from WHYY, to date, Philadelphia has been awarded $200 million dollars in total opioid settlement funds, money paid by opioid makers, distributors and retailers in restitution for their role in the ongoing opioid crisis. City officials announced that the funds would be released over the cours...
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