After a chorus of emotional public testimony, City Council passed a bill Thursday curtailing mobile medical and outreach services in Kensington.
Elementary school students from Kensington spoke in favor of the bill, noting how upsetting it is to see people using drugs on a daily basis. Many adult residents said the legislation would protect children from trauma and improve quality of life and safety for families in the neighborhood. But people who work in harm reduction and people who received services on the street while in addiction, vehemently opposed the bill, saying it would abandon those in need and put lives at risk.
"When I walk to school, I see many people that are not moving and need medical help," a fifth-grader at Gloria Casarez Elementary School on Ontario Street testified. "I'm just a kid. I want to go outside and feel like I'm safe."
Kensington, the epicenter of Philadelphia's addiction crisis, has one of the largest open-air drug markets on the East Coast.
"Every day I see drug dealers when I'm going to and from school," another fifth grader said. "All day long, cars stop in front of my house, and the drug dealers get money. I don't want to see that. … It's wrong for medical services, for people in addiction to be located near schools and houses like mine."
A teacher said she has found "addicts defecating in front of the school building or in between cars in the parking lot. I saw an addict using my car mirror to shoot drugs into his neck. … Our students are children and are seeing these things. They think it's normal, it's not fair or equitable. They deserve better."
But an organizer with the Positive Women's Network, a national group of women living with HIV, said the bill won't stop people from "overdosing in front of schools."
"It blocks rapid response," she said. "This bill guarantees that children will see even more dead people."
Mayor Cherelle Parker has 10 days to sign or veto the bill. Council has the votes to override a veto.
Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, who represents the seventh district that includes Kensington, introduced the bill seven months ago, but then held it to get more input from community members and providers. Last week, City Council approved amendments to the bill, making it more restrictive.
The bill restricts mobile medical providers that distribute medications for opioid use disorder, offer free HIV testing and other services to a city-maintained lot at 265 E. Lehigh Ave. The property is next to a drug diversion court the city administration recently opened. Medical mobile services also can operate on East Allegheny Avenue between Kensington Avenue and F Street from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. — a time when businesses are closed.
Other mobile services, such as groups that distribute food, clothing and harm reduction supplies, can operate anywhere in Kensington, but not for longer than 45 minutes. They then must move to a location at least 1,000 feet away.
Groups who do not abide by these rules will be subject to $1,000 fines. Three or more fines will preclude mobile services groups from being able to obtain annual permits now required to operate in Kensington.
The bill takes effect 60 days after it is signed by Parker.
