poverty
Don’t Expect Philly’s New Police Commissioner to Magically Fix the City for Us
After more than a month of anticipation, newly appointed Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw began her first day on the job early Monday morning. After […]
The Opioid Crisis Is Worsening Homelessness in Philly. Solving the Problem Is a Matter of Survival
It’s another perfectly shitty day to be homeless in Philadelphia. Cold, wet and pitiless. T.S. Eliot famously said that April is the cruelest month, but […]
Can This Charismatic Pastor Rally Philly Around Its Most Intractable Problem?
Almost four years ago, I met Bill Golderer for the first time, and like many people who meet Bill Golderer, I felt moved. I can’t […]
Want Philly to Stop Being Written Off as “Killadelphia”? Get Serious About Poverty.
From Friday through Sunday this Father’s Day weekend, there were 22 shootings, 32 victims, and six homicides in Philadelphia. Amid these multiple tragedies, more Philadelphians […]
Only 2.5 Percent of Philly Businesses Are Black-Owned. The City Must Act.
In recent years, there’s been a lot of discussion about how Black millennials might be able to close the generational wealth gap in our community. […]
Philly, We’re Officially Living in an Apartheid State
Since moving to Philadelphia nearly a decade ago, I’ve never understood why people have embraced the term “majority-minority” as a way of describing the city. […]
The Moral Case for Why We Must Repeal Philadelphia’s Soda Tax
“The Philadelphia beverage tax — I know it has people angry about it, but it’s like Obamacare,” Mayor Jim Kenney told a crowd of Black […]
City Council Should Ban Cashless Stores, Because Philly Can’t Afford Them
City Council has finally produced a practical idea this year that simultaneously looks out for the poor and makes life easier for the rest of […]
I Love My Job: United Way CEO Bill Golderer Sets the Record Straight on Poverty in Philly
Bill Golderer, the visionary behind some of Philadelphia’s most impactful organizations, from Broad Street Ministry to Rooster Soup Co., is now at the helm of […]
Pew Report: Philly Remains the Poorest of America’s 10 Largest Cities
Although job numbers are up and population continues to rise, Philadelphia has maintained its unenviable position as the poorest of American’s biggest cities, according to […]
Philly’s Poverty Rate Is the Highest Among U.S. Big Cities
Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative released the findings of a new report on Wednesday that examined, in detail, our city’s poor. At 25.7 percent, […]
Here’s How Much Income Puts You in Philadelphia’s Top 1 Percent
The gap between the country’s top earners and everyone else is, unsurprisingly, still widening, and a report from CNBC this week gives us some insight […]
Enough With the Free Turkeys, Politicians — Get Serious About Reducing Poverty
The older I get, the more I realize that for all of the progress Philadelphia prides itself on, there is still so much that needs […]
ThinkFest Recap: 3 Takeaways From Otis Bullock Jr. on Generational Poverty
Otis Bullock Jr. still remembers the first time he understood the depths of the poverty that he was born into in North Philadelphia. It was 1996, […]
Generational Poverty: Trying to Solve Philly’s Most Enduring Problem
Mattie McQueen was about five years old when her mother offered a surprise: “Let’s all go for ice cream.” McQueen and three of her siblings […]