PHASE 4 PHLRentAssist is now open!!

Phase 4 Facts:

• Landlords and tenants can apply. If a landlord applies, their tenant must be eligible, and they must get written consent from their tenant. If a landlord does not wish to participate, the rental assistance can be paid directly to the tenant.

• Applicants who received funds in Phases 1-3 of PHLRentAssist are eligible to apply for Phase 4, however, applicants may not receive funds for any months which they have previously been paid.

• Tenants are eligible if they meet all three of these criteria:

  1- Have a household income at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). View income guidelines here.

  2- Qualify for unemployment benefits; or have experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced some other financial hardship due to COVID-19.

  3- Demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Tenants can meet this criterion if they have any past-due rent, past due utilities, received an eviction notice, or are paying over one-third of their household income on rent.

• Assistance for both rent and utilities is available:

  1- Rent assistance can be provided for up to 18 months total, including back rent and forward rent. However, no more than 3 months of forward rent can be provided at one time. Tenants who receive 3 months of forward rent and have not exceeded the 18 months of total assistance, may reapply for another 3 months of forward rent.

  2- Applicants with rent arrears must satisfy at least one month of those arrears before applying for forward rent.

  3- Assistance may only be provided for months of rent after April 2020.

  4- The total amount of rent assistance cannot exceed $2,000 per month, and that amount may include late fees or other charges passed on by the landlord.

  5- Utility payments can be provided for up to 18 months total.

  6- Utility payments must have been accrued on or after March 12, 2020.

  7-Utility payments can only be for the current month and past-due utility payments (assistance is not available for future months’ utility bills).

• Utility payments can only be for the current month and past-due utility payments (assistance is not available for future months’ utility bills).

Visit PHLRentAssist for more details and Questions? Call 311 or visit our HELP Portal.

PHILLY COUNTS News!!

Join Philly Counts for an Upcoming Vaccine Information Champion Training!

If you didn’t have the chance to join us last week, we are excited to share the registration links for upcoming Vaccine Information Champion training sessions in English on April 5th at 1:00pm, and in Spanish on April 8th at 1:00pm. We understand that there are many questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, how to sign up for it, and what to expect when you go for your appointment. We hope this 90 minute training empowers you with the information you need to have meaningful conversations with your friends and neighbors.

Philly Counts is Hiring!

Philly Counts is hiring! We are seeking organizers to help coordinate and conduct outreach and education around the COVID-19 vaccine throughout Philadelphia.

We are hiring organizers to assist with building coalitions, coordinating meetings and collective engagement activities, and general administrative duties in the African and Caribbean communities, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, and throughout our city’s neighborhoods. We have already filled a position that will work with the Latino community. Click on the job postings below to learn more about the roles we’re seeking to fill, and please share with your networks. We would like to hire Neighborhood Organizers that are from Philadelphia.

Coalition Organizer, African and Caribbean communities

Coalition Organizer, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities

Neighborhood Organizer

Philly Spring Clean UP 2021

It’s been a long year but we are excited about the return of the Philly Spring Cleanup on Saturday, April 10th!

Things will be slightly different this year due to new COVID-19 safety protocols. Each project site must be limited to 20 volunteers. And all projects will need a COVID Prevention Coordinator.

Share your neighborhood clean up projects with SKCP by leaving a message at 215-427-3463 or emailing info@southkensingtoncommunity.org with the project location and number of volunteers needed. We won't be able to gather as we have in years past, but we can still help recruit volunteers,coordinate trash pick up, and offer supplemental tools and PPP.>/span>.

COVID-19 Funeral Assistance - FEMA

Under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, FEMA will provide financial assistance for COVID-19-related funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020. We are working with stakeholder groups to get their input on ways we can best provide this assistance, and to enlist their help with outreach to families and communities. FEMA will begin to implement COVID-19 funeral assistance in April.
Additional guidance is being finalized and will be released to potential applicants and community partners as soon as possible. In the meantime, people who have COVID-19 funeral expenses are encouraged to keep and gather documentation.

Details here.

REGISTER OF WILLS , PHILADELPHIA OFFICE

The primary goal of the Register of Wills office in Philadelphia is to serve you, especially during the time when you may be grieving the loss of a loved one.
The information in this brochure is intended to be of assistance by providing basic information relating to estates and the functions of this office.
Please be assured that the office of the Register of Wills is committed to provide services to the public in a prompt and efficient matter.

Register of Wills and the Recorder of Deeds announced the launch of the Probate Deferment Initiative (PDI)

Register of Wills and the Recorder of Deeds announced the launch of the Probate Deferment Initiative (PDI). Register of Wills Tracey Gordon and Commissioner of Records Jim Leonard are waiving and deferring fees associated with "Tangled Titles." Our office will guide PDI Applicants to a free legal aid group where they will get a new will and the title fixed - free of charge. This program is designed for middle and low income families.

Probate Deferment Initiative Announcement (PDI) - Launch Video - Youtube

Probate Deferment Initiative Announcement (PDI) - Launch Video - Facebook

Vision Zero Conference Philadelphia: Recovery through Safety & Mobility

The 2021 Vision Zero Conference Philadelphia format will feature speakers and panels for 2-3 hours per day during the week of March 22-26, 2021. Each day speakers and panel topics will focus on a specific theme, including:

• -equity and the disproportionate impact of traffic violence on communities of color

• -Philadelphia’s Vision Zero efforts -how the Greater Philadelphia region can pursue Vision Zero

• -the role of community in Vision Zero, and

• -thinking beyond current mobility options to reach Vision Zero.

  Self Guide Ride of VZ and Complete Street Projects

Tickets are sliding scale and all levels get you the same access to five days of programming.

SKCP is able to offer a limited number of free tickets to neighbors who are unable to pay but may be interested, call 215-427.3463 and leave message

SKCP COMMUNITY ZONING VIRTUAL MEETING

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Mark your calendar for Livewell Garden Projects

Livewell Garden Projects @ Howard & Master

All are invited to participate.

Meet us in the garden space: Northeast corner of Howard and Master Streets

Saturday, March 20 @ 10am (rain date Sunday): Clean up, brush management

Saturday, April 24 @ 10am (rain date Sunday): Modification of chain link fence, gazebo maintenance

Saturday, May 22 @ 10am (rain date Sunday): Gazebo maintenance part 2, spring planting of annuals and perennials

We ask that all participants wear appropriate attire and bring work gloves. We will follow current COVID protocols and ask participants to wear a mask and practice social distancing.

PPP (Payroll Protection Program) NEW RULES!!

Small Business Owners: What You Need To Know About The New PPP Rules
Morgan Simon, Forbes

Are you a small business owner, working on your own or with less than 20 employees? Do you have student debt, a felony record, or are you a Green Card holder? The Biden administration announced five major changes in the Payroll Protection Program this week, which could make a big difference in making sure your application reaches the front of the line this time around.

Here are the updates:
1. Less restrictions on formerly incarcerated small business owners
2. More access for immigrant business owners
3. No more penalizing business owners with student loans
4. Two-week focus period for business owners with less than 20 employees
5. No more restrictions on business owners without a payroll

Read here for details.

Check out this guide for first-time applicants.

IMPORTANT SURVEYS: Septa & City of Philadelphia

SEPTA Winter 2021 COVID-19 Travel Survey

In 2020, we asked you whether or not you were traveling on SEPTA during the pandemic. We would like to hear from you again in our Winter 2021 COVID-19 Travel Survey. You'll notice some differences with the new survey, but the goal remains the same: To help us improve our service and keep our passengers and employees safe.

Click here to participate

As the city recovers from the devastating and racially disproportionate impact of COVID-19, Philadelphians -- now more than ever -- are looking for critical services and resources that address their needs. In order to better understand those needs and the best ways to respond to them, we need to hear from community members like you.

Please share your thoughts with our 5-minute survey.
The deadline for responses is Saturday, March 13, 2021.

Click here for more information on the Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity.

SKCP Virtual Community Meeting

Click here to register in advance.

FREE FOOD PICKUP

Get the flyer here
Looking for Volunteers: If you have a car or truck and want to help with Saturday deliveries, please call and leave a message @ 215-427-3463

PPD Domestic Violence Seminar Series

Upcoming Service Area Briefing with the Philly Register of Wills!

Flyer for March 23 Service Area Briefing with the Register of Wills. Click image to register for the Zoom meeting.

SKCP COMMUNITY ZONING VIRTUAL MEETING

Wednesday, FEBRUARY 24th at 6.30 pm.

To register for the meeting click here

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 project.

The sites to be discussed at the meeting are the following:

• 6.30pm 1539 N American Street (view here the plan).

• 7.30pm 1640 N Hancock Street (view here the plan).

We will have limited time for questions during the virtual meeting. To ensure your question is answered, please review project materials in advance of the meeting and submit any questions to rco@southkensingtoncommunity.org and include the project name in the email subject line.

FREE FOOD PICKUP

Get the flyer here
Looking for Volunteers: If you have a car or truck and want to help with Saturday deliveries, please call and leave a message @ 215-427-3463

Philadelphia COVID-19 Restaurant and Gym Relief Program

The Commerce Department & the Office of Business Services wanted to connect with the Restaurant and Gym business community to answer all questions about the Philadelphia COVID-19 Restaurant and Gym Relief Program. The Philadelphia COVID-19 Restaurant and Gym Relief Program (RGRP) is designed to provide financial relief to small businesses located in Philadelphia that have been among the most adversely affected by the latest round of pandemic-related restrictions enacted in November 2020. Eligible businesses are limited to restaurants with indoor dining, gyms, and businesses whose primary activity is indoor exercise. This event provides a platform for business owners to ask questions verbally or via chat, that will be answered in an open forum.
Applications will open on January 28, 2021 and the deadline to apply is February 9, 2021.

Click here for details and to register.

FREE FOOD DISTRIBUTION RETURNS

Saturday, January 30th - Food Distribution Returns

SKCP and the Arab American CDC will be distributing FREE boxes of healthy food through the Farm to Families program every Saturday beginning January 30th at 4pm in the parking lot of Al Aqsa Islamic Society at 1501 Germantown Avenue.

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

We are able to offer some delivery to nearby (19122/23) seniors, immune compromised, and households unable to make it to the distribution site. If you would like to request delivery OR assist those on your block, OR if you want to volunteer to assist with distribution/delivery please leave a message at 215-427-3463.

Together with the AACDC, we offer our Gratitude and Appreciation to the Share Food Program & to Penn Treaty Special Services District (PTSSD) for the additional support that enables us to extend our offerings and support more households. Much appreciation also to neighborhood businesses Al Amana Grocery, and Lost Bread Co for their generous donations of time, space, and product. And of course, to all our neighbors including everyone who receives food and all those who volunteer to help.

Find free food and meals during COVID-19 clicking here.

COVID-19 NEWS

The City is encouraging residents to sign up online and complete the Vaccine Interest Form to express interest in receiving the vaccine as it becomes available.

Visit https://covid-vaccine-interest.phila.gov
to complete the form.

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An illustrated guide to how the COVID-19 vaccines work
Tom Avril and Dominique DeMoe, Philadelphia Inquirer
It is impossible for the RNA vaccines to cause infection. And no, they can’t change your DNA. The first two COVID-19 vaccines to be distributed, one made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, the other by Moderna Inc., are the first such drugs to consist of genetic instructions in the form of RNA: ribonucleic acid.
Here is a step-by-step description of the process, written with guidance from University of Pennsylvania scientist Drew Weissman, whose work with former colleague Katalin Karikó, now at BioNTech, helped make the vaccines possible.

View here the Myths