I’m joined by Gloria Malone from Vital Strategies and Keli McLoyd, Director of the Overdose Response Unit for the City of Philadelphia, to talk about the You Can Save Lives campaign. At a time when overdose deaths continue to rise in the Black community, this initiative raises critical awareness about the life-saving power of Naloxone and the urgent need for overdose prevention strategies that match the scale of the crisis. They share how Philadelphians can access free Naloxone and Fentanyl test strips.
Learn more at youcansavelives.org and substanceusephilly.com
Follow Vital Strategies on Instagram: @vitalstrategies
Later in the show, we spotlight a powerful nonprofit working to uplift Philadelphia neighborhoods by renovating aging homes: Rebuilding Together Philadelphia. I speak with Rudolph “Coach” Edge, a homeowner whose block was transformed by this initiative; Stefanie F. Seldin, President and CEO of Rebuilding Together Philadelphia; and Craig Carnaroli, Senior Executive Vice President at the University of Pennsylvania, a key supporter of this community-centered work.
Learn more at rebuildingphilly.org
Follow Rebuilding Together Philadelphia:
Instagram: @rtphiladelphia
Facebook: facebook.com/rebuildingphilly
LinkedIn: Rebuilding Together Philadelphia
Learn more at youcansavelives.org and substanceusephilly.com
Follow Vital Strategies on Instagram: @vitalstrategies
Later in the show, we spotlight a powerful nonprofit working to uplift Philadelphia neighborhoods by renovating aging homes: Rebuilding Together Philadelphia. I speak with Rudolph “Coach” Edge, a homeowner whose block was transformed by this initiative; Stefanie F. Seldin, President and CEO of Rebuilding Together Philadelphia; and Craig Carnaroli, Senior Executive Vice President at the University of Pennsylvania, a key supporter of this community-centered work.
Learn more at rebuildingphilly.org
Follow Rebuilding Together Philadelphia:
Instagram: @rtphiladelphia
Facebook: facebook.com/rebuildingphilly
LinkedIn: Rebuilding Together Philadelphia
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning. You're listening to Insight, a show about empowering
our community. I'm Lorraine Ballard.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Today we're joined by community leaders working to uplift Philadelphia
neighborhoods renovating aging homes through a program called Rebuilding Together Philadelphia.
But first, all overdoses are preventable. I'm very excited to
be joined by two individuals who have a very important
message to share with us. Gloria Malone is Senior Manager
(00:26):
of Multimedia Strategies and Vital Strategies, and Kaylee mccloyd, who's
Director of Overdose Response Unit at the City of Philadelphia.
We're going to talk about that you Can Save Lives
campaign at a time when overdose deaths are not decreasing
in the black community. This campaign is raising awareness about
the life saving power of naloxone and the urgent need
(00:48):
for overdose prevention strategies. So let's let's just get right
into it and thank you both for joining us. Gloria,
let's start with you. Tell us about the You Can
Save Lives campaign and what inspired it. It's folks on
the black community.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
We have been working across the United States around overdose prevention.
Here a vital strategies for a few years now, and
about last year we saw that the CDC was reporting
a decline in overdose deaths. However, there was no decline
in the black communities specifically, and so we wanted to
continue this work that we have been doing and just
(01:22):
kind of scale it up a bit more about making
sure that the disproportionate impacts of the overdose crisis and
the Black community are being spoken about and that solutions
are also being presented when we're talking about this disproportion
at crisis. And so we were done radio spots around
the country with the radio hosts who on urban stations
who speak predominantly to Black communities, to raise awareness and
(01:46):
let people know where they can get in the lock
zome for free and without questions asked in their local
community and so you can. The Power to Save a
Life campaign is kind of scaling up what we've already
been doing to increase awareness even more and to make
sure that more and more Black community these are aware
that this is an issue for us and that there
are solutions available to us as well.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Kaylie, we know overdose deaths are not going down in
the black community. Why is that and what do we
need to be doing differently.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Thanks so much, Loreene, and also shout out to iHeartRadio
for just being so supportive of this really important work
in supporting black communities and vital strategies as well.
Speaker 5 (02:23):
So there's a couple of reasons.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
One of the reasons that we have identified in some
of the work we do is that black communities have
been treated differently, and we know that there are really
lasting effects of the War on drugs, and because black
folks were predominantly treated in disproportionate manners in terms of
harsher penalties, we know that people may be more reluctant
(02:47):
to proactively access resources that might be helpful to them.
At the same time, we know that the demographic that
is most likely to experience and overdose in the city
of Philadelphia City is actually Black men between the ages
of forty five and sixty. While we understand that there
have absolutely been harsher penalties with relation to this demographic,
(03:11):
we really wanted to come up with a way to
provide people with these life saving resources without asking them
to proactively identify as somebody that might need them, or
proactively identify as a person who uses drugs. For so long,
we have sort of asked people to carrying the lockstone
(03:31):
carrying nar can if you are a person who uses drugs,
or if you love a person that uses drugs. But
what we actually know from the data is that we
don't know who is using drugs. So what we've done
in the city of Philadelphia, we're really excited about this work,
is that we decided that we are going to give
this important life saving resource to everyone. So we have
(03:52):
a great canvassing team that I'd like to tell you
a little bit more about in some of the neighborhoods
they've been in in the city of Philadelphia, some of
the successes they've had, because it's really been a beautiful program.
Speaker 5 (04:03):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Let's talk about it. And I think we also need
to point out that all the publicity, all the awareness
seems to be focused on Kensington, but we know that
drug overdoses are occurring across the city but also in
other specific neighborhoods. So let's talk about that and about
your canvassing campaign.
Speaker 5 (04:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Absolutely, And of course our hearts go out to so
many of the folks that are living inside and outside
in the Kensington area, and so many of the great
folks who are doing great work there. We also know
that the zip codes in which there is the highest
increasing rates of overdose in the city of Philadelphia are
(04:44):
outside of the Kensington area. Specifically, we're seeing very high
rises in overdose rates in North Philadelphia as well as
Southwest Philadelphia.
Speaker 5 (04:54):
And so what we've done is we've.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Designed a canvassing program that is specific targeting areas outside
of the Kensington area where we know. One of the
great things is that we know that there are a
lot of resources in Kensington and those resources may not
be available in other neighborhoods. So we've specifically targeted areas
where we know that folks are more likely to be
(05:17):
using inside the home and more likely to be dying
of overdose inside the home. So we started in North
Philadelphia and Hunting Park in Juniata. We did a lot
of canvassing and Point Breeze Grace Ferry in different parts
of West Philadelphia and Southwest Philadelphia. Right now, the team
is in Germantown and we're really excited. I hope that
(05:39):
they come by my house. I'm waiting for them, and
we have some really fantastic numbers.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
We started this work in.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
October of twenty twenty four, and so far, this small
but mighty group of canvassers has knocked on almost two
hundred thousand doors. They've had almost seventeen thousand conversation with folks.
They've handed out over thirty thousand doses of the lock zone.
Over thirty thousand doses of the lock zone. That's thirty
(06:08):
thousand opportunities to save a life and reverse an overdose.
And they've had it handed out almost thirty four thousand
fentanyl test strips.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Well, that's incredible and absolutely clearly life saving, I'm sure
in so many cases. Now, Gloria, let's talk about the
importance of the lozone or narcan. How does it work?
I know that thanks to the campaign, I have some
narcan in my glove compartment in my car. I think
that Kayley's point is very important, which is that we
(06:40):
actually don't always know who is using substances, and we
don't always know that, but we want to be ready
in case something does happen. So, Gloria, tell us more
about the importance of the lock zone, How does it
work and why does everyone need to have it?
Speaker 3 (06:56):
As you said, we don't always know when someone may
be using drug And in this work, I've heard oftentimes
people unfortunately after a loved one has died, they'll say,
I didn't even know they were using drugs. It's not
about knowing if someone is using or if someone you
love is using. It's about destigmatizing this. In the lock
zone also known as marcan to be synonymous with things
(07:19):
like aspirin and your medicine cabinet or an EpiPen. Right,
both of those things help people feel better, and in
this case, you know, just like an EpiPen, the lock
zone can literally save someone's life. And so what the
lo zone does is it kind of binds to the
opioid receptors and your brain to block an overwhelming amount
of like opioids that will lead to a fatal overdose.
(07:41):
So it kind of it's like really scientific, but it
kind of blocks the receptors from getting overwhelmed with so
many opioids. It's really easy to use. There's like five
minute training video on that you can Save Lives dot
org website that shares you know what science to look
for if someone is overdosing, how to administer in a
lock zone, and what happens after someone comes out of
(08:02):
an overdose, and so I think there's a lot of
drama surrounding overdose and people who use drugs and what
happens when someone comes out of an overdose. Pulp fiction
definitely for our older listeners. Pulp fiction definitely had a
very dramatic way of reversing an overdose. But we're talking
about a nose spray, all right, And like, sure a
nose spray can be uncomfortable, but if anyone has seasonal allergies,
(08:24):
we know how easy a nose spray can be used,
and you just give it a few minutes and you
know it'll help your nose clear up. And in this
case with an a lock zone, it'll literally help bring
someone back to life by reversing that overdose. Then that's
really how simple it is. And it's safe. So if
someone is not experiencing an opiated overdose or an overdose,
a new administer in a lock zone, they will be fine.
(08:46):
There's a lot of misinformation out there, but in a
loxone is extremely safe to use. Now, when you administer
in a lock zone and you wait a few minutes,
which seems like an eternity, I can you know, I
can say that when you're with someone. That can feel
like a very long time, wait a few minutes when
someone comes out of that overdose, So you want to
make sure that you're there with them. You want to
(09:06):
let them know that you did ad minister in a
lock zone, and you also want to let them know
that they're safe and they're okay. There's this idea that
people come out of them after being administered in the
lock zone, then they just want to fight somebody, right
or like they're in this like really crazed state. And
I disagree. Right when you wake up, you're a little
bit groggy, you're a little bit foggy, and that's the
(09:28):
same thing that happens with coming out of an overdose
once maloxin has been administered. So it is very safe,
that is very easy to use, and it does not
harm someone and the person's coming out of the overdose
is not going to get up and harm you. Right,
you literally have to saved this individual's life. That's kind
of the long and short upon a lock zone works well.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
I think that's very important because I think there are
a lot of misconceptions and Kelly, can you talk more
about misconceptions that people still have about overdose prevention? And
how does it Camp helped to shift these narratives.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Sure, you know, I think that one of the things
that we get wrong around overdose prevention is one that
it's always sort of you know, quote unquote those people
that are using drugs, right It's it's never people that
look like us. It's never people in our communities and
our families, in our homes.
Speaker 5 (10:22):
We know from the data that that's absolutely not true.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
It's sort of a story that we use to keep
ourselves safe that if somebody is stable, a housed or
if somebody has a loving family, that they're not going
to be a person who uses substances, and that that's
absolutely not true. I think that the other thing that
that's one of the myths is that we always know
what we are using, right. I think it's a very
(10:46):
different world now in terms of ways to access substances.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
You know.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
I always joke that when I was in high school
or in college, it was always somebody's schedule, older brother
that would be the person that was able to access drugs.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
It's a whole different world right now.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
And because of that, it's really important that people understand
that you should assume that you do not know what
you are getting right, and because we don't know that
what we are getting, and we know that that really
puts us at a much higher risk for overdoses. So
we know, if you are using any type of substance,
please make sure that you have ventanal test strips nearby.
(11:25):
Please make sure that you have narkand nearby. We advise
people not to use drugs alone because again we don't
always know or where we really ever know the potency.
And one of the other things that we advise is
to go slow. You can always use more, but you
can never use less once it's ingested.
Speaker 5 (11:44):
Right.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
You know, there's a show called The Pit which I'm
totally addicted to right now. It's about an emergency room
and it's there hour by hour craziness that they have
to experience. And one thing I learned, which seems so obvious,
but nevertheless, it really brought forward the fact that several
of the characters that had overdoses did so because they
(12:06):
took pills that were pretending to be something else that
maybe it was oxy supposed to be OxyContin or codone,
but it was actually fentanyl. And so there's so many
fake pills out there that go out into the street,
into raves, into the social situations even that are not
what you think they are. And so the fentanyl test
(12:28):
strips are absolutely critical. Don't take anything without testing them
because you could die. Now, those out there who are listening,
who want to get involved, what are the first steps
that they can take, whether it's getting the lock zone,
learning how to use it, or sharing this message with
other people.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Gloria, First, you know, I have to say. You can
go to the you can save a live dot org
website and you can learn more about the frequently asked
questions around the lock zone and people who use drugs
and drug overdose prevention and things like that. There's also
a spread aware section where you can actually download the
images from the campaign and share them on your social
media or share with your family. But I think one
(13:07):
of the first things that's really important to do is
to kind of do like a self interrogation and see
how you yourself can start to talk about this topic
in a different way that's less fu filled with shame
and stigma. So we've had decades of messaging and narratives
around people who use drugs and drug overdose and all
of these things, and so it's really important for us
(13:28):
to do our own interrogation and find ways that we
can change our language and the ways in which we
view people who use drugs, and then right then we
could be looking at how do we get in the
lock zone? You know? Why should I? Why I carry
in the lock zone? There's a lot of work that
we each can do, and it starts with us having
honest conversations with ourselves and making sure that before we
(13:50):
try to go tell someone you know, you're talking about
this wrong, that we understand the ways in which we
have been talking about it wrong ourselves, and that we
can do better so that we can have these conversations
with our community members, which is ultimately what we're doing
with the radio spots is we want people to have
these community conversations publicly so that we can remove some
of the shame and stigma and we can all learn
(14:11):
together to be better for one another.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Absolutely, and we want to be able to save lives.
And one way you can do that is to check
out this website. Kayleie, what's that website? One more time?
Speaker 5 (14:20):
There's substance use Philly dot GUVN.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
That's a place where you can get in a long
zone that you can sign up for training. There's also
you have the Power to Save lives. That's another place
where you can get this information as well.
Speaker 5 (14:33):
The other thing that I'd.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
Say that I think is really important is that I
want people to know that there's never an obligation to
save somebody's life unless you are a professional. If you're
just a regular person, there's never an obligation. But I
do want people to know that saving somebody's life is
most likely one of the most powerful experiences you will
ever have, and I never want to see people in
(14:57):
a situation where they could have saved somebody's life and
they didn't just have the tools with them. Again, like
Gloria said, it says nothing about you, what you do,
who you hang out with, who your family members are.
Speaker 5 (15:10):
It's just like any other tool.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
So keep one in your car, keep one in your backpack,
keep one in your medicine cabinet at home.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Absolutely, absolutely critical advice and the resources are out there
absolutely free. Thank you both for joining us here today,
Kaylie mccloyd, who's director of Overdose Response Unit at City
of Philadelphia, and Gloria Malone, Senior manager of Multimedia Strategies
at vital strategies, and this is all about saving lives.
(15:39):
I want to thank you both for all the great
life saving work that you're doing. Thank you so much.
We appreciate you.
Speaker 5 (15:45):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
This summer, thousands of children in our community will face hunger,
but you can help. Nutritional Development Services of the Archdiocese
of Philadelphia provides free nutritious meals to kids who need them,
but we need volunteers and community organizations to serve as
meal sites. Whether you're a church, community center, or any
other organization, it has programs for children. You can be
(16:13):
a partner. Visit Nutritionaldevelopment Services dot org or call two
on five eight nine five three four seven oh to
get more information. Together we can feed hope. You're listening
to Insight today. We're joined by community leaders working to
(16:33):
uplift Philadelphia neighborhoods through housing from West Philly Home Repairs.
We're talking about what it means to build strong, healthy communities.
We welcome Rudolph coach Edge, a homeowner whose block has
been transformed thanks to Rebuilding Together Philadelphia, Stephanie Selden, President
and CEO of re Building Together Philadelphia, and Craig Karna
(16:54):
Rolley who's Senior Executive VP a University of Pennsylvania, a
major supporter of this. I'm going to begin with you, Stephanie.
Tell us how Rebuilding Together Philadelphia got started and how
the organization connects to West Philadelphia and.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Penn Rebuilding Together Philadelphia was founded by a Wharton NBA
student named Robert Bellinger, who's still very much involved with
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia. He's on our board. He comes back
to the block builds every year. We are going to
have a slew of Wharton NBA students and Whitesman's School
(17:29):
of Designed students coming to put the final touches on
the repairs of eleven homes over two days at the
next block build.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Stephanie, why is preserving affordable homeownership and investing in home
repairs so critical in your work?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia provides home repairs to make homes safe
for seniors, healthy for children, and secure assets to pass
on to the next generation. We repair one house at
a time, but our work is more than just about
physical structures. Affordable housing is crucial for creating equitable, stable,
(18:07):
and thriving communities.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Let's go to coach Ed. You are a homeowner, how
did you first find out about Rebuilding Together Philadelphia and
what made you want to join in and want to participate.
Speaker 6 (18:18):
Well, it was a Saturday morning. I was actually walking
down the street to catch the l on fifty second
Street and I passed fifty second in Chancellor and I
heard music and I said, someone's having a block party.
And I looked down the block and I saw all
these contractors. I said, no, this is not a block party.
So I walked on the block and I walked up
to someone and I said, what's going on? And they said,
(18:40):
this is Rebuilding Together? And I said what is that?
They said, let me go find a block captain for you,
someone that can help you. I said, yeah, go get
the block captain because I'm a block captain of my block.
And they said where do you live. I said fifty
third and Delancey. So that's how I met Adrian. Adrian
came over and I said what is this and she said,
this is Rebuilding Together. I said how does it work?
(19:01):
And she explained it and we went in a couple
of houses and I said, how do I get my
block involved? And that's how he got started, and then
I got that. She introduced me to the enterprise center
and everything, and then we kind of put it together.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Fantastic. Now what kind of repairs were made to your
home and tell us how have they made a difference
for you personally.
Speaker 6 (19:20):
So I had a pipe the sewer lion had cracked.
It's kind of everything started happening around the same time,
about a month before they were scheduled to come. I
had a cracked sewalon. I said, oh, oh my god.
Then I looked up and I had my kitchen ceiling
had a drip. And I called one plumber and he said, well,
I'm gonna have to cut a hole through the ceiling
(19:41):
to get to this pipe, or I might have to
go upstairs and pull the tub out. And I said, I,
you know, I really don't have that kind of money.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
And that sounds very expensive.
Speaker 6 (19:51):
Yeah, is there another way that we can do it?
And he says no, And then I said, rebuilders coming soon.
If I can hold on for this, I'll be okay.
I'll be okay.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
So they came in and they helped.
Speaker 6 (20:05):
You came in and when they walked in to do
the assessment, when Adrian came in, I took her right
to the kitchen. I said, you can see the leaps,
you said, I see the leap, and I took her upstairs.
I said, this is what the problem is. And I said,
let me take you in the basement. I said, this
pipe just cracked a couple of days ago and I
needed fixed.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
And they did it, and they did it.
Speaker 6 (20:25):
I'm so happy. I'm just sorrying. Have you ever try
to laugh and cry at the same time.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Oh yeah, and as a homeowner, I've done a lot
of laughing and crying. Let's go to Craig Craig Carnirolie.
What led Penn to partner with Rebuilding Together and why
are supporting affordable housing and West Philadelphia residence a priority
for the university.
Speaker 7 (20:45):
If you go back to the mid nineties when Penn
really ramped up its community engagement, housing was one of
the critical elements at the time was more taking advantage
of the single home single family homes that were available.
As our strategies evolved, affordable housing has become a challenge
not only in West Philadelphia but Philadelphia at large, as
(21:06):
you see with the Mayor's initiative, but the country as
a whole. We really like this program because of the
way of Stephanie's leadership, but also the way it's done.
It works with people like Rudy or Coach that it's
not done to them, it's done with them. It's organized
with the block captains. It helps build community when you're
out at one of these events and you see the
(21:28):
joy on people's faces and just the investment. It's really
maintaining communities together.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Right, and you have Pen students, people associated with Penn
directly involved. I wonder if you can talk a little
more about why Penn sees this investment fitting into your
long term vision for community engagement.
Speaker 7 (21:48):
It's important for the university to thrive that we have
a stable, healthy community around us. And I think if
we're able to use our resources, our talent, our people
to be part of that solution, not to be thus solution,
but to work with organizations and community members in a
more collaborative way, it just makes a more vibrant community
(22:11):
for everybody.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Stephanie specifically, what kind of repairs does your team provide
and how do you decide which homes and blocks to
work on.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Rudy mentioned that Enterprise Center we work with. The Enterprise
Center CDC is a community based partner. We work with
the homeowners to ask them what they need, because they
know their homes better than anyone. We're Building Together Philadelphia
evaluates homes based on twenty five health and safety goals,
(22:42):
everything from plumbing, roofing, electric to fire safety and grab bars.
Nothing is cosmetic, but we absolutely will work with the
homeowners to try and meet the dreams for their homes.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Coaches home is the fortieth out of seventy five being
renovated in this project. Why is this milestone so important?
And what impact does Pen's one point seven million dollar
investment have on your work overall?
Speaker 5 (23:09):
Right?
Speaker 2 (23:09):
So one point seven millions, Yeah, so generous, and we
are so appreciative of pen support. That support will allow
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia to repair seventy five houses over four years,
and we're so happy to have reached the milestone of
forty homes. Penn wanted to make an impact on its
(23:30):
community and it truly has. Preserving home ownership allows people
to stay in the homes where they have neighbors that
care about them. Rudy has said that our work was
more than just fixing old houses. It brought his community together.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Coach, I wonder what does it mean to you to
see your community invested and support it like this.
Speaker 6 (23:56):
The words cannot describe it. The last three weeks, I've
had neighbors knock on my door because this house years
ago used to be the card house. We used to
play Pinuckle on Friday afternoon. I lived with a whole
bunch of older neighbors. They were tired and I used
to cook on Friday. I would fry the fish and
I would Friday chicken and they would come over and say,
we want to play Pinacle on your porch. Porch, turn
on your light and feed us. Years passed and they
(24:19):
stopped coming, and the neighbors it's kind of fell apart
a little bit. But when rebuild came, neighbors started coming
back out and coming down to my house and they
knocked on the door and I said, what are you
doing here, And they said, we come to visit. Let
us end. We love this program. They walked through. They're
gonna give me new cabinets. They're gonna pull up my
old rug and I said, yeah, they're doing mine too,
(24:42):
And they said, put your chairs on the porch and
go get that table and find a deck of cards.
And I said, you know, I forgot how to play
the game. They said, we'll help you, will help you.
But it's been it's been wonderful. It brings the neighbors
back together. Wow, it's just real nice. The whole block that.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Is so cool and Craig, you know, I guess you've
we've seen it firsthand. As rebuilding together Philadelphia has actually
started to transform these houses. I mean, how does it feel.
I mean, one point seven is a very nice investment,
so thank you for that, But how does it feel
from just a heart standpoint to see how these older
homes have been uplifted and allowed those residents who've been
(25:22):
there for many many years, decades even being able to
stay in those homes.
Speaker 7 (25:27):
It's very warning and fulfilling in this way. When I
lived in West Philadelphia, I used to live at forty
six in Larchwood. One of the things I think people
don't realize is the strength of the relationships and communities
that have lasted, as Rudy has said, over many many years,
and so the idea that we're helping a block at
a time kind of rebuild and be able to stay
(25:50):
there and maintain those relationships, it's just really really heartening
and it just makes me feel proud of pen to
be able to be if you will, as Stephanie said
that the genesis but also the longitudinal creator of this
and to hear Rudy's stories just make me feel really good.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Well, Stephanie, your organization has been transferring these homes, one
home at a time, and I'm sure that you're always
looking for people to support the work that you do,
whether it's monetarily, which is always good like pen one
forty seven, hey, or maybe volunteering. Tell us more about
how we can help you do what you do, Laurene.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Thank you so much for asking that. Of course, we
need all the support for us to be able to
repair one hundred and fifty homes every year. We've made
a huge stride with twenty three hundred home since our inception,
but we always need resources. We'd love to have more
subcontractors come and work with us. The majority of our
(26:48):
subcontractors about eighty percent of them, or minority or women
known businesses, so we love to have folks from the
community helping other people in the community. Yes, volunteers, they
can go to our website at rebuilding Philly dot org.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Fantastic and for other blocks like the block that Rudy
lives on. How can they find out more about how
you guys can come to their neighborhoods.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Yes, resolutely. They can look on our website. We also
have block application. We love to have blocks that are
organized like Rudy's come together and approach us for assistance
and if the internet is not as easy to get to.
We also have a phone number of two one five
nine six five zero seven seven seven.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
And co Trudy. I'm going to give you the last words,
So what would you say overall is your feeling about
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
It is a wonderful program. I encourage other blocks to
seek them out and bring them to Beer Block. It
will unite your block, it will restore your houses, and
it will reunite that love that neighbors once had that
we need to bring back into the city of Philadelphia.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
I love that. Thank you so much for that. Rudolph
coach Edge, homeowner whose block has been transformed thanks to
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia. Stephanie Selden, President and CEO of Rebuilding
Together Philadelphia. Craig Carnioli, who's Senior Executive VP at the
University of Pennsylvania, a major supporter of this work, one
point seven million dollars to help make sure that homeowners
(28:30):
are able to stay in their homes. This is one
of the great solutions for maintaining affordable housing. Thank you
all so much for sharing your story today.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Thank you much, Lorraine, Thank you, thanks everybody.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app ye Word's Philadelphia
Community Podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrow, and I stand for service to
our community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?
(29:04):
You've been listening to insight and thank you
Good morning. You're listening to Insight, a show about empowering
our community. I'm Lorraine Ballard.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Today we're joined by community leaders working to uplift Philadelphia
neighborhoods renovating aging homes through a program called Rebuilding Together Philadelphia.
But first, all overdoses are preventable. I'm very excited to
be joined by two individuals who have a very important
message to share with us. Gloria Malone is Senior Manager
(00:26):
of Multimedia Strategies and Vital Strategies, and Kaylee mccloyd, who's
Director of Overdose Response Unit at the City of Philadelphia.
We're going to talk about that you Can Save Lives
campaign at a time when overdose deaths are not decreasing
in the black community. This campaign is raising awareness about
the life saving power of naloxone and the urgent need
(00:48):
for overdose prevention strategies. So let's let's just get right
into it and thank you both for joining us. Gloria,
let's start with you. Tell us about the You Can
Save Lives campaign and what inspired it. It's folks on
the black community.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
We have been working across the United States around overdose prevention.
Here a vital strategies for a few years now, and
about last year we saw that the CDC was reporting
a decline in overdose deaths. However, there was no decline
in the black communities specifically, and so we wanted to
continue this work that we have been doing and just
(01:22):
kind of scale it up a bit more about making
sure that the disproportionate impacts of the overdose crisis and
the Black community are being spoken about and that solutions
are also being presented when we're talking about this disproportion
at crisis. And so we were done radio spots around
the country with the radio hosts who on urban stations
who speak predominantly to Black communities, to raise awareness and
(01:46):
let people know where they can get in the lock
zome for free and without questions asked in their local
community and so you can. The Power to Save a
Life campaign is kind of scaling up what we've already
been doing to increase awareness even more and to make
sure that more and more Black community these are aware
that this is an issue for us and that there
are solutions available to us as well.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Kaylie, we know overdose deaths are not going down in
the black community. Why is that and what do we
need to be doing differently.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Thanks so much, Loreene, and also shout out to iHeartRadio
for just being so supportive of this really important work
in supporting black communities and vital strategies as well.
Speaker 5 (02:23):
So there's a couple of reasons.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
One of the reasons that we have identified in some
of the work we do is that black communities have
been treated differently, and we know that there are really
lasting effects of the War on drugs, and because black
folks were predominantly treated in disproportionate manners in terms of
harsher penalties, we know that people may be more reluctant
(02:47):
to proactively access resources that might be helpful to them.
At the same time, we know that the demographic that
is most likely to experience and overdose in the city
of Philadelphia City is actually Black men between the ages
of forty five and sixty. While we understand that there
have absolutely been harsher penalties with relation to this demographic,
(03:11):
we really wanted to come up with a way to
provide people with these life saving resources without asking them
to proactively identify as somebody that might need them, or
proactively identify as a person who uses drugs. For so long,
we have sort of asked people to carrying the lockstone
(03:31):
carrying nar can if you are a person who uses drugs,
or if you love a person that uses drugs. But
what we actually know from the data is that we
don't know who is using drugs. So what we've done
in the city of Philadelphia, we're really excited about this work,
is that we decided that we are going to give
this important life saving resource to everyone. So we have
(03:52):
a great canvassing team that I'd like to tell you
a little bit more about in some of the neighborhoods
they've been in in the city of Philadelphia, some of
the successes they've had, because it's really been a beautiful program.
Speaker 5 (04:03):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Let's talk about it. And I think we also need
to point out that all the publicity, all the awareness
seems to be focused on Kensington, but we know that
drug overdoses are occurring across the city but also in
other specific neighborhoods. So let's talk about that and about
your canvassing campaign.
Speaker 5 (04:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Absolutely, And of course our hearts go out to so
many of the folks that are living inside and outside
in the Kensington area, and so many of the great
folks who are doing great work there. We also know
that the zip codes in which there is the highest
increasing rates of overdose in the city of Philadelphia are
(04:44):
outside of the Kensington area. Specifically, we're seeing very high
rises in overdose rates in North Philadelphia as well as
Southwest Philadelphia.
Speaker 5 (04:54):
And so what we've done is we've.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Designed a canvassing program that is specific targeting areas outside
of the Kensington area where we know. One of the
great things is that we know that there are a
lot of resources in Kensington and those resources may not
be available in other neighborhoods. So we've specifically targeted areas
where we know that folks are more likely to be
(05:17):
using inside the home and more likely to be dying
of overdose inside the home. So we started in North
Philadelphia and Hunting Park in Juniata. We did a lot
of canvassing and Point Breeze Grace Ferry in different parts
of West Philadelphia and Southwest Philadelphia. Right now, the team
is in Germantown and we're really excited. I hope that
(05:39):
they come by my house. I'm waiting for them, and
we have some really fantastic numbers.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
We started this work in.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
October of twenty twenty four, and so far, this small
but mighty group of canvassers has knocked on almost two
hundred thousand doors. They've had almost seventeen thousand conversation with folks.
They've handed out over thirty thousand doses of the lock zone.
Over thirty thousand doses of the lock zone. That's thirty
(06:08):
thousand opportunities to save a life and reverse an overdose.
And they've had it handed out almost thirty four thousand
fentanyl test strips.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Well, that's incredible and absolutely clearly life saving, I'm sure
in so many cases. Now, Gloria, let's talk about the
importance of the lozone or narcan. How does it work?
I know that thanks to the campaign, I have some
narcan in my glove compartment in my car. I think
that Kayley's point is very important, which is that we
(06:40):
actually don't always know who is using substances, and we
don't always know that, but we want to be ready
in case something does happen. So, Gloria, tell us more
about the importance of the lock zone, How does it
work and why does everyone need to have it?
Speaker 3 (06:56):
As you said, we don't always know when someone may
be using drug And in this work, I've heard oftentimes
people unfortunately after a loved one has died, they'll say,
I didn't even know they were using drugs. It's not
about knowing if someone is using or if someone you
love is using. It's about destigmatizing this. In the lock
zone also known as marcan to be synonymous with things
(07:19):
like aspirin and your medicine cabinet or an EpiPen. Right,
both of those things help people feel better, and in
this case, you know, just like an EpiPen, the lock
zone can literally save someone's life. And so what the
lo zone does is it kind of binds to the
opioid receptors and your brain to block an overwhelming amount
of like opioids that will lead to a fatal overdose.
(07:41):
So it kind of it's like really scientific, but it
kind of blocks the receptors from getting overwhelmed with so
many opioids. It's really easy to use. There's like five
minute training video on that you can Save Lives dot
org website that shares you know what science to look
for if someone is overdosing, how to administer in a
lock zone, and what happens after someone comes out of
(08:02):
an overdose, and so I think there's a lot of
drama surrounding overdose and people who use drugs and what
happens when someone comes out of an overdose. Pulp fiction
definitely for our older listeners. Pulp fiction definitely had a
very dramatic way of reversing an overdose. But we're talking
about a nose spray, all right, And like, sure a
nose spray can be uncomfortable, but if anyone has seasonal allergies,
(08:24):
we know how easy a nose spray can be used,
and you just give it a few minutes and you
know it'll help your nose clear up. And in this
case with an a lock zone, it'll literally help bring
someone back to life by reversing that overdose. Then that's
really how simple it is. And it's safe. So if
someone is not experiencing an opiated overdose or an overdose,
a new administer in a lock zone, they will be fine.
(08:46):
There's a lot of misinformation out there, but in a
loxone is extremely safe to use. Now, when you administer
in a lock zone and you wait a few minutes,
which seems like an eternity, I can you know, I
can say that when you're with someone. That can feel
like a very long time, wait a few minutes when
someone comes out of that overdose, So you want to
make sure that you're there with them. You want to
(09:06):
let them know that you did ad minister in a
lock zone, and you also want to let them know
that they're safe and they're okay. There's this idea that
people come out of them after being administered in the
lock zone, then they just want to fight somebody, right
or like they're in this like really crazed state. And
I disagree. Right when you wake up, you're a little
bit groggy, you're a little bit foggy, and that's the
(09:28):
same thing that happens with coming out of an overdose
once maloxin has been administered. So it is very safe,
that is very easy to use, and it does not
harm someone and the person's coming out of the overdose
is not going to get up and harm you. Right,
you literally have to saved this individual's life. That's kind
of the long and short upon a lock zone works well.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
I think that's very important because I think there are
a lot of misconceptions and Kelly, can you talk more
about misconceptions that people still have about overdose prevention? And
how does it Camp helped to shift these narratives.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Sure, you know, I think that one of the things
that we get wrong around overdose prevention is one that
it's always sort of you know, quote unquote those people
that are using drugs, right It's it's never people that
look like us. It's never people in our communities and
our families, in our homes.
Speaker 5 (10:22):
We know from the data that that's absolutely not true.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
It's sort of a story that we use to keep
ourselves safe that if somebody is stable, a housed or
if somebody has a loving family, that they're not going
to be a person who uses substances, and that that's
absolutely not true. I think that the other thing that
that's one of the myths is that we always know
what we are using, right. I think it's a very
(10:46):
different world now in terms of ways to access substances.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
You know.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
I always joke that when I was in high school
or in college, it was always somebody's schedule, older brother
that would be the person that was able to access drugs.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
It's a whole different world right now.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
And because of that, it's really important that people understand
that you should assume that you do not know what
you are getting right, and because we don't know that
what we are getting, and we know that that really
puts us at a much higher risk for overdoses. So
we know, if you are using any type of substance,
please make sure that you have ventanal test strips nearby.
(11:25):
Please make sure that you have narkand nearby. We advise
people not to use drugs alone because again we don't
always know or where we really ever know the potency.
And one of the other things that we advise is
to go slow. You can always use more, but you
can never use less once it's ingested.
Speaker 5 (11:44):
Right.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
You know, there's a show called The Pit which I'm
totally addicted to right now. It's about an emergency room
and it's there hour by hour craziness that they have
to experience. And one thing I learned, which seems so obvious,
but nevertheless, it really brought forward the fact that several
of the characters that had overdoses did so because they
(12:06):
took pills that were pretending to be something else that
maybe it was oxy supposed to be OxyContin or codone,
but it was actually fentanyl. And so there's so many
fake pills out there that go out into the street,
into raves, into the social situations even that are not
what you think they are. And so the fentanyl test
(12:28):
strips are absolutely critical. Don't take anything without testing them
because you could die. Now, those out there who are listening,
who want to get involved, what are the first steps
that they can take, whether it's getting the lock zone,
learning how to use it, or sharing this message with
other people.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Gloria, First, you know, I have to say. You can
go to the you can save a live dot org
website and you can learn more about the frequently asked
questions around the lock zone and people who use drugs
and drug overdose prevention and things like that. There's also
a spread aware section where you can actually download the
images from the campaign and share them on your social
media or share with your family. But I think one
(13:07):
of the first things that's really important to do is
to kind of do like a self interrogation and see
how you yourself can start to talk about this topic
in a different way that's less fu filled with shame
and stigma. So we've had decades of messaging and narratives
around people who use drugs and drug overdose and all
of these things, and so it's really important for us
(13:28):
to do our own interrogation and find ways that we
can change our language and the ways in which we
view people who use drugs, and then right then we
could be looking at how do we get in the
lock zone? You know? Why should I? Why I carry
in the lock zone? There's a lot of work that
we each can do, and it starts with us having
honest conversations with ourselves and making sure that before we
(13:50):
try to go tell someone you know, you're talking about
this wrong, that we understand the ways in which we
have been talking about it wrong ourselves, and that we
can do better so that we can have these conversations
with our community members, which is ultimately what we're doing
with the radio spots is we want people to have
these community conversations publicly so that we can remove some
of the shame and stigma and we can all learn
(14:11):
together to be better for one another.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Absolutely, and we want to be able to save lives.
And one way you can do that is to check
out this website. Kayleie, what's that website? One more time?
Speaker 5 (14:20):
There's substance use Philly dot GUVN.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
That's a place where you can get in a long
zone that you can sign up for training. There's also
you have the Power to Save lives. That's another place
where you can get this information as well.
Speaker 5 (14:33):
The other thing that I'd.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
Say that I think is really important is that I
want people to know that there's never an obligation to
save somebody's life unless you are a professional. If you're
just a regular person, there's never an obligation. But I
do want people to know that saving somebody's life is
most likely one of the most powerful experiences you will
ever have, and I never want to see people in
(14:57):
a situation where they could have saved somebody's life and
they didn't just have the tools with them. Again, like
Gloria said, it says nothing about you, what you do,
who you hang out with, who your family members are.
Speaker 5 (15:10):
It's just like any other tool.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
So keep one in your car, keep one in your backpack,
keep one in your medicine cabinet at home.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Absolutely, absolutely critical advice and the resources are out there
absolutely free. Thank you both for joining us here today,
Kaylie mccloyd, who's director of Overdose Response Unit at City
of Philadelphia, and Gloria Malone, Senior manager of Multimedia Strategies
at vital strategies, and this is all about saving lives.
(15:39):
I want to thank you both for all the great
life saving work that you're doing. Thank you so much.
We appreciate you.
Speaker 5 (15:45):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
This summer, thousands of children in our community will face hunger,
but you can help. Nutritional Development Services of the Archdiocese
of Philadelphia provides free nutritious meals to kids who need them,
but we need volunteers and community organizations to serve as
meal sites. Whether you're a church, community center, or any
other organization, it has programs for children. You can be
(16:13):
a partner. Visit Nutritionaldevelopment Services dot org or call two
on five eight nine five three four seven oh to
get more information. Together we can feed hope. You're listening
to Insight today. We're joined by community leaders working to
(16:33):
uplift Philadelphia neighborhoods through housing from West Philly Home Repairs.
We're talking about what it means to build strong, healthy communities.
We welcome Rudolph coach Edge, a homeowner whose block has
been transformed thanks to Rebuilding Together Philadelphia, Stephanie Selden, President
and CEO of re Building Together Philadelphia, and Craig Karna
(16:54):
Rolley who's Senior Executive VP a University of Pennsylvania, a
major supporter of this. I'm going to begin with you, Stephanie.
Tell us how Rebuilding Together Philadelphia got started and how
the organization connects to West Philadelphia and.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Penn Rebuilding Together Philadelphia was founded by a Wharton NBA
student named Robert Bellinger, who's still very much involved with
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia. He's on our board. He comes back
to the block builds every year. We are going to
have a slew of Wharton NBA students and Whitesman's School
(17:29):
of Designed students coming to put the final touches on
the repairs of eleven homes over two days at the
next block build.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Stephanie, why is preserving affordable homeownership and investing in home
repairs so critical in your work?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia provides home repairs to make homes safe
for seniors, healthy for children, and secure assets to pass
on to the next generation. We repair one house at
a time, but our work is more than just about
physical structures. Affordable housing is crucial for creating equitable, stable,
(18:07):
and thriving communities.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Let's go to coach Ed. You are a homeowner, how
did you first find out about Rebuilding Together Philadelphia and
what made you want to join in and want to participate.
Speaker 6 (18:18):
Well, it was a Saturday morning. I was actually walking
down the street to catch the l on fifty second
Street and I passed fifty second in Chancellor and I
heard music and I said, someone's having a block party.
And I looked down the block and I saw all
these contractors. I said, no, this is not a block party.
So I walked on the block and I walked up
to someone and I said, what's going on? And they said,
(18:40):
this is Rebuilding Together? And I said what is that?
They said, let me go find a block captain for you,
someone that can help you. I said, yeah, go get
the block captain because I'm a block captain of my block.
And they said where do you live. I said fifty
third and Delancey. So that's how I met Adrian. Adrian
came over and I said what is this and she said,
this is Rebuilding Together. I said how does it work?
(19:01):
And she explained it and we went in a couple
of houses and I said, how do I get my
block involved? And that's how he got started, and then
I got that. She introduced me to the enterprise center
and everything, and then we kind of put it together.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Fantastic. Now what kind of repairs were made to your
home and tell us how have they made a difference
for you personally.
Speaker 6 (19:20):
So I had a pipe the sewer lion had cracked.
It's kind of everything started happening around the same time,
about a month before they were scheduled to come. I
had a cracked sewalon. I said, oh, oh my god.
Then I looked up and I had my kitchen ceiling
had a drip. And I called one plumber and he said, well,
I'm gonna have to cut a hole through the ceiling
(19:41):
to get to this pipe, or I might have to
go upstairs and pull the tub out. And I said, I,
you know, I really don't have that kind of money.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
And that sounds very expensive.
Speaker 6 (19:51):
Yeah, is there another way that we can do it?
And he says no, And then I said, rebuilders coming soon.
If I can hold on for this, I'll be okay.
I'll be okay.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
So they came in and they helped.
Speaker 6 (20:05):
You came in and when they walked in to do
the assessment, when Adrian came in, I took her right
to the kitchen. I said, you can see the leaps,
you said, I see the leap, and I took her upstairs.
I said, this is what the problem is. And I said,
let me take you in the basement. I said, this
pipe just cracked a couple of days ago and I
needed fixed.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
And they did it, and they did it.
Speaker 6 (20:25):
I'm so happy. I'm just sorrying. Have you ever try
to laugh and cry at the same time.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Oh yeah, and as a homeowner, I've done a lot
of laughing and crying. Let's go to Craig Craig Carnirolie.
What led Penn to partner with Rebuilding Together and why
are supporting affordable housing and West Philadelphia residence a priority
for the university.
Speaker 7 (20:45):
If you go back to the mid nineties when Penn
really ramped up its community engagement, housing was one of
the critical elements at the time was more taking advantage
of the single home single family homes that were available.
As our strategies evolved, affordable housing has become a challenge
not only in West Philadelphia but Philadelphia at large, as
(21:06):
you see with the Mayor's initiative, but the country as
a whole. We really like this program because of the
way of Stephanie's leadership, but also the way it's done.
It works with people like Rudy or Coach that it's
not done to them, it's done with them. It's organized
with the block captains. It helps build community when you're
out at one of these events and you see the
(21:28):
joy on people's faces and just the investment. It's really
maintaining communities together.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Right, and you have Pen students, people associated with Penn
directly involved. I wonder if you can talk a little
more about why Penn sees this investment fitting into your
long term vision for community engagement.
Speaker 7 (21:48):
It's important for the university to thrive that we have
a stable, healthy community around us. And I think if
we're able to use our resources, our talent, our people
to be part of that solution, not to be thus solution,
but to work with organizations and community members in a
more collaborative way, it just makes a more vibrant community
(22:11):
for everybody.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Stephanie specifically, what kind of repairs does your team provide
and how do you decide which homes and blocks to
work on.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Rudy mentioned that Enterprise Center we work with. The Enterprise
Center CDC is a community based partner. We work with
the homeowners to ask them what they need, because they
know their homes better than anyone. We're Building Together Philadelphia
evaluates homes based on twenty five health and safety goals,
(22:42):
everything from plumbing, roofing, electric to fire safety and grab bars.
Nothing is cosmetic, but we absolutely will work with the
homeowners to try and meet the dreams for their homes.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Coaches home is the fortieth out of seventy five being
renovated in this project. Why is this milestone so important?
And what impact does Pen's one point seven million dollar
investment have on your work overall?
Speaker 5 (23:09):
Right?
Speaker 2 (23:09):
So one point seven millions, Yeah, so generous, and we
are so appreciative of pen support. That support will allow
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia to repair seventy five houses over four years,
and we're so happy to have reached the milestone of
forty homes. Penn wanted to make an impact on its
(23:30):
community and it truly has. Preserving home ownership allows people
to stay in the homes where they have neighbors that
care about them. Rudy has said that our work was
more than just fixing old houses. It brought his community together.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Coach, I wonder what does it mean to you to
see your community invested and support it like this.
Speaker 6 (23:56):
The words cannot describe it. The last three weeks, I've
had neighbors knock on my door because this house years
ago used to be the card house. We used to
play Pinuckle on Friday afternoon. I lived with a whole
bunch of older neighbors. They were tired and I used
to cook on Friday. I would fry the fish and
I would Friday chicken and they would come over and say,
we want to play Pinacle on your porch. Porch, turn
on your light and feed us. Years passed and they
(24:19):
stopped coming, and the neighbors it's kind of fell apart
a little bit. But when rebuild came, neighbors started coming
back out and coming down to my house and they
knocked on the door and I said, what are you
doing here, And they said, we come to visit. Let
us end. We love this program. They walked through. They're
gonna give me new cabinets. They're gonna pull up my
old rug and I said, yeah, they're doing mine too,
(24:42):
And they said, put your chairs on the porch and
go get that table and find a deck of cards.
And I said, you know, I forgot how to play
the game. They said, we'll help you, will help you.
But it's been it's been wonderful. It brings the neighbors
back together. Wow, it's just real nice. The whole block that.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Is so cool and Craig, you know, I guess you've
we've seen it firsthand. As rebuilding together Philadelphia has actually
started to transform these houses. I mean, how does it feel.
I mean, one point seven is a very nice investment,
so thank you for that, But how does it feel
from just a heart standpoint to see how these older
homes have been uplifted and allowed those residents who've been
(25:22):
there for many many years, decades even being able to
stay in those homes.
Speaker 7 (25:27):
It's very warning and fulfilling in this way. When I
lived in West Philadelphia, I used to live at forty
six in Larchwood. One of the things I think people
don't realize is the strength of the relationships and communities
that have lasted, as Rudy has said, over many many years,
and so the idea that we're helping a block at
a time kind of rebuild and be able to stay
(25:50):
there and maintain those relationships, it's just really really heartening
and it just makes me feel proud of pen to
be able to be if you will, as Stephanie said
that the genesis but also the longitudinal creator of this
and to hear Rudy's stories just make me feel really good.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Well, Stephanie, your organization has been transferring these homes, one
home at a time, and I'm sure that you're always
looking for people to support the work that you do,
whether it's monetarily, which is always good like pen one
forty seven, hey, or maybe volunteering. Tell us more about
how we can help you do what you do, Laurene.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Thank you so much for asking that. Of course, we
need all the support for us to be able to
repair one hundred and fifty homes every year. We've made
a huge stride with twenty three hundred home since our inception,
but we always need resources. We'd love to have more
subcontractors come and work with us. The majority of our
(26:48):
subcontractors about eighty percent of them, or minority or women
known businesses, so we love to have folks from the
community helping other people in the community. Yes, volunteers, they
can go to our website at rebuilding Philly dot org.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Fantastic and for other blocks like the block that Rudy
lives on. How can they find out more about how
you guys can come to their neighborhoods.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Yes, resolutely. They can look on our website. We also
have block application. We love to have blocks that are
organized like Rudy's come together and approach us for assistance
and if the internet is not as easy to get to.
We also have a phone number of two one five
nine six five zero seven seven seven.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
And co Trudy. I'm going to give you the last words,
So what would you say overall is your feeling about
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
It is a wonderful program. I encourage other blocks to
seek them out and bring them to Beer Block. It
will unite your block, it will restore your houses, and
it will reunite that love that neighbors once had that
we need to bring back into the city of Philadelphia.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
I love that. Thank you so much for that. Rudolph
coach Edge, homeowner whose block has been transformed thanks to
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia. Stephanie Selden, President and CEO of Rebuilding
Together Philadelphia. Craig Carnioli, who's Senior Executive VP at the
University of Pennsylvania, a major supporter of this work, one
point seven million dollars to help make sure that homeowners
(28:30):
are able to stay in their homes. This is one
of the great solutions for maintaining affordable housing. Thank you
all so much for sharing your story today.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Thank you much, Lorraine, Thank you, thanks everybody.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app ye Word's Philadelphia
Community Podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrow, and I stand for service to
our community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?
(29:04):
You've been listening to insight and thank you
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