Do No Harm: Community, cameras & respect

December 4th
4PM – 6PM
Presented by Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, Hidden River Films, Mural Arts Philadelphia, and Scribe Video Center.

Have you been filmed or photographed, with or without your permission, in a way that impacted your life?
Have you taken photographs or videos of people in Kensington?
Have images of Kensington colored the way you think about the community?

Join this community conversation about the role of cameras in the Kensington community; how they can harm and how they can help. Join neighbors and media professionals as we explore participatory methods of creating news stories, pictures and film and talk about how representation matters. As a follow-up, we will share insights we discover together in a poster campaign throughout the neighborhood.

This event will be held in English and Spanish. Click here to register.

Pathways to Reform, Transformation, & Reconciliation Community Engagement Series: Circles of Truths

Monday, November 30
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Join us for the first session of a community engagement series on police reform—Circles of Truths—hosted by the City of Philadelphia's Pathways to Reform, Transformation, and Reconciliation.
This virtual event will center around truth-sharing, grief and building a space for healing, discussion, and listening as we work towards building an equitable future for all. The series' opening session will center on addressing and repairing harm, and gathering collaborative feedback. Moving forward, it will focus on fostering relationships, community building and the continued development of public safety and policing reforms.

Register here to receive a Zoom invitation prior to the start of the event.

La Esquina Garden Fundraising Campaign

18 days to go!!

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$eedMoney fundraising campaign for La Esquina

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Here is the link to the page, which you can look at but won't be live till Sunday:
https://donate.seedmoney.org/5144/la-esquina-community-garden

(This campaign will start on Nov 15 2020 at 12:00 PM EST and will end on Dec 15 2020 at 12:00 PM EST)

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

The Tues and Thurs Open Garden will return, at 3pm, for composters, children needing a break from school, others needing a break from _____, food gatherers and passersby. There are collards and kale, plus microgreens like spinach, arugula, cilantro, lettuce. Herbs include dill, marjoram, thyme, oregano. Still open 10-noon on Saturdays, weather permitting.

FB: La Esquina Community Garden
email: laesquinagarden@gmail.com
La Esquina's parent non-profit is Olde and South Kensington Green Space, www.oskgreen.com

COVID Alert PA App

COVID Alert PA is the official mobile app by the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) that uses the Exposure Notification System (ENS) provided by Apple and Google.
You can now add your phone to the fight against COVID-19 by going to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store and downloading the free COVID Alert PA app to your smartphone. The app runs on iPhones that support iOS 13.5 and higher, and Android phones running Android 6.0 and higher. The app is not intended to be used by people under 18 years of age.
COVID Alert PA works in Pennsylvania, and when you travel to other locations in the United States including: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Wyoming.
States piloting an exposure notification app with al limited population include: California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington.

Details about the App click here, and about COVID-19 Data for Pennsylvania click here.

Downloadable Resources

You, too, can join in the fight against COVID. We invite you to spread the word about the COVID Alert PA app with your friends, neighbors, colleagues, and employers.

You can find downloadable posters about the app, as well as, stickers, postcards, and social media graphics on the: Community resources webpage.

SKCP Fall 2020 Newsletter & Resource Guide

INSIDE: "Avoid Utility Shut-Offs During the Pandemic", "Struggling With Your Mortgage Payments? Save Your Home" , "Mutual Aid", and "Continuing to Combat COVID 19"

Click here to view pdf

Old/South Kensington Tree Tenders

If you or your neighbors would like to see trees planted on your block as early as Spring 2021, please fill out the form at

https://pg-cloud.com/phs/?openform=request-a-tree

or call 215-370-0099

or email greening@southkensingtoncommunity.org

Requests submitted mid November through April may be planted the following November.

SURVEYS

Online Survey on health effects of visiting green spaces.

You are invited to participate in a short survey that is being conducted by researchers at the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health. Your responses will be used for a research study of the health effects of visiting green spaces, such as parks and gardens, during the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey should take you fewer than ten minutes to complete.
Participating in the survey is completely voluntary. You are welcome to skip any questions that you prefer not to answer, and you can stop participating at any time. Choosing to not participate will not be held against you. Your survey responses will be completely anonymous, and we will not collect any identifying or contact information from you. We will not contact you again after you participate in the survey. There are no risks or benefits to participating in this survey.

Click here to fill the survey.

Take the Voter Experience Survey.

November 3, 2020 Voter Experience Survey: In-person vs. mail-in voting.
Please take a few minutes to answer the following questions about your voting experience in this fall's 2020 General Election. The results of this survey are important to understanding what voters encounter during the voting process. The aggregate results will be publicly available after the election. No identifiable information is required.
The Committee of Seventy is a nonpartisan advocate for better government and elections. We invite voters from across Pennsylvania to participate. Thank you, in advance, for your help in improving elections.

Click here to take the survey.

Coronavirus FAQ: How Do I Clean My Mask

Washing Machine? Oven? Broccoli Steamer?
Sheila Mulrooney Eldred, NPR

Does putting a reusable mask in the oven for 30 minutes at 165 degrees Fahrenheit kill the virus that causes COVID-19 and other pathogens? If not, how do I clean it?
The good news: Yes, baking your cloth or synthetic mask would probably kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Several studies have shown that the virus dies when exposed to 158 degrees Fahrenheit for a length of time somewhere between 2 1/2 minutes and an hour.
The bad news: It may also singe your mask.
Remember, says professor Raina MacIntyre, head of the Biosecurity Research Program at the University of New South Wales' Kirby Institute, "An oven is designed to burn things!"
The jury is still out on exactly how important it is to wash your mask to prevent COVID-19 infection, but MacIntyre dug into some data from her 2015 study on cloth masks and found evidence that washing masks in a machine, instead of by hand, helps prevent infections of other seasonal viruses in health care workers. Her theory is that the longer wash cycle and hotter water temperatures in a machine kill viruses more efficiently than washing by hand.

Click here on how experts advise you care for your masks (to the best of current knowledge, of course).

Answer the call: Philadelphia Contact Tracing

A Health Department contact tracer will:

• Call from a 215-218.XXXX

• Never ask about immigration status or for credit card or social security numbers.

• Be able to send you an email from a phila.gov address.

• More here.

How to Notify Your Contacts

• If you’ve just been told you have COVID-19, you need to take care of your health and also help protect people around you...

• More here.

How to Stay Safe After a COVID-19 Exposure

• You have been identified as someone exposed to a person with COVID-19...

• More here.

Click for available Guidance documents like the following:

• COVID-19 guidelines for the holidays.

• What to do if someone tests positive for COVID-19 at work.

• How to notify your contacts.

• Calculating isolation and quarantine period.

• Recommendations for household members awaiting test results.

City of Philadelphia Provides Update on COVID-19 for Thursday, November 19, 2020

Live: Ask Questions About Help with Philly Utility Bills!

Why wait for shutoffs to resume? You could be saving money on water bills right now.
Join us Monday November 23 at 6 p.m. for a special Facebook Live Town Hall and hear from a Philadelphia Water Department customer assistance expert as well as PECO and PGW reps!
This live Q&A presentation is being hosted by Philadelphia City Council At-Large Rep. Kendra Brooks to walk you through enrollment in cost-saving programs like LIHEAP and our special hardship discount just for Philadelphia water customers.
Register now to get your questions answered about the moratorium on utility shutoffs, LIHEAP, and other low-income bill pay programs. Customers are also encouraged to submit a question ahead of the live event:

RSVP + Submit Questions Now!

Old/South Kensington Tree Tenders

Old/South Kensington Tree Tenders
Will be planting trees in the neighborhood this weekend
Saturday and Sunday, November 21 and 22.

This weekend, you might see SKCP's LandCare crew and Old/South Kensington Tree Tenders planting trees in various spots throughout the neighborhood.

If you or your neighbors would like to see trees planted on your block as early as Spring 2021, please fill out the form at
https://pg-cloud.com/phs/?openform=request-a-tree or call 215-370-0099
or email
greening@southkensingtoncommunity.org

FREE Boxes of Food every Saturday

1501 Germantown Avenue
(Parking Lot of Al Aqsa Islamic Academy)
Starting at 4 pm

No ID or proof of income is needed. Distribution is "first come first serve" so it is best to arrive as close to 4 pm as possible. One allotment per family but you can pick up for an elder or neighbor. Offerings vary by week but can include fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, bread, chicken, and eggs. Masks are required and we ask that you maintain social distancing to protect yourself, our neighbors and volunteers.

We are able to do some local deliveries (19122/23): Please leave a message at 215-427-3463.

THANK YOU to the City of Philadelphia and the Share Food Program and our partners The Arab American CDC. Much appreciation to neighborhood businesses Al Amana Grocery, Lost Bread, and Punch Buggy for their generous donations of time, space and product.

$eedMoney fundraising campaign for La Esquina.

Here is the link to the page, which you can look at but won't be live till Sunday:
https://donate.seedmoney.org/5144/la-esquina-community-garden (This campaign will start on Nov 15 2020 at 12:00 PM EST and will end on Dec 15 2020 at 12:00 PM EST)

The Tues and Thurs Open Garden will return, at 3pm, for composters, children needing a break from school, others needing a break from _____, food gatherers and passersby. There are collards and kale, plus microgreens like spinach, arugula, cilantro, lettuce. Herbs include dill, marjoram, thyme, oregano. Still open 10-noon on Saturdays, weather permitting.

SWEET POTATO FEST
“Just in time for Thanksgiving”
438 Jefferson Street
*** SATURDAY NOVEMBER 21, 10am till 2pm ***
PUT IN YOUR ORDER NOW!
Call: 215-221-2995 or Email: laesquinagarden@gmail.com
”Don’t wait till too late!”

FB: La Esquina Community Garden
email: laesquinagarden@gmail.com
La Esquina's parent non-profit is Olde and South Kensington Green Space, www.oskgreen.com

Fund Thanksgiving Turkeys for Neighbors in Need

Thanks to the generous spirit of the community, the AACDC and SKCP were able to exceed our fundraising goal of last week!

This means we will be able to provide turkeys as a part of the weekly food distribution to families who are struggling through these times.

Thank you to each of you who donated. Continued appreciation to the Share Food Program and to Lost Bread Co. And thanks to Ellie for organizing the GoFundMe effort!

Hancock Park ribbon cutting

It’s time to recycle your leaves.

Bagged Leaf Drop-Off will be offered city-wide, on Saturdays only at 13 citywide locations from 9 AM to 3 PM (except on November 14th and 28th). A designated fleet of sanitation compactors will be positioned at the sites to accept the bagged leaves. Crews assigned to accept ONLY bagged leaves and yard waste as part of the program. No household rubbish will be accepted. More here.

Closest location on American & Thompson Streets.

Housing Repair & Rental Improvement Programs

Philadelphia’s affordable housing strategy depends on repairing existing homes
Michaelle Bond, Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia’s housing stock is old and can be expensive to maintain — challenges in a city with a 23% poverty rate, incomes that aren’t keeping pace with rising home prices, and now a pandemic-induced recession.
Every home that becomes uninhabitable and abandoned or crumbles due to disrepair is one fewer home available to mitigate the affordable housing crisis.
City officials and housing advocates repeat a common sentiment: The most affordable house for residents is usually the one in which they already live because they don’t have to take on new debt or spend money relocating. So repairing existing homes is a key part of Philadelphia’s affordable housing strategy. Read here.

Grant programs
Through the Philadelphia Housing Development Corp.’s Basic System Repair Program, income-eligible homeowners can get repairs such as plumbing, electrical, structural, and roof work for free. Details here.

Restore, Repair, Renew loan program.
Homeowners with credit scores above 580 and who meet other criteria can get loans up to $24,999 and pay 3% interest. The program includes financial counseling, home assessments, and guidance throughout the renovations. It assists people who earn a little too much money to qualify for grant programs but may not have savings or can’t afford the higher interest rates of typical loans. Many wouldn’t qualify for loans at all. More details here.

The Rental Improvement Fund, a pilot program the city and the Impact Loan Fund started in May, provides loans to small landlords to make repairs to improve the quality and affordability of rental housing.
Read more here.

SKCP Fall 2020 Newsletter & Resource Guide

View here the newsletter

Fund Thanksgiving Turkeys for Neighbors in Need.

Over the past few months, the Arab-American Development Corps (AACDC) and the South Kensington Community Partners, (SKCP) have been distributing free food parcels to families in need at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Philadelphia. Every Saturday we serve healthy food for 250 families in our community and due to the hardships caused by COVID-19, we will be continuing to provide food assistance to these families over the months ahead.
As Thanksgiving approaches, we want to ensure every family has a special Thanksgiving meal. We want to provide a Thanksgiving turkey to every family but our funding is tight and we do not have the additional resources to provide the turkeys.

We need YOUR help! How you can help, clickhere.

SKCP Virtual Community Zoning Meeting

SKCP's RCO will host a virtual Community Zoning Meeting on Wednesday, November 18th, 2020 at 6:30 PM. We will review 4 projects:

6:30 pm 1643-51 N 6TH ST
7:00 pm 1700 N HOWARD ST
7:45 pm 1400 N HOWARD ST
8:15 pm 1334 N HANCOCK ST

We will have limited time for questions during the meeting and we ask that questions be submitted ahead of time.

Project Plans will be posted SOON to the SKCP website. Please visit SKCP blog to review the projects, submit questions, and register for the meeting.

If you prefer, you may also sign up by calling South Kensington Community Partners’ office at 215-427-3463 and leaving a message with your name and number. SKCP will provide reasonable accommodation to any neighbor that requests additional assistance with joining the meeting or otherwise submitting feedback on the projects.