PHA COVID Update
PHA Partner Aids Seniors at Mount Olivet During Crisis
(Philadelphia – June 1, 2020)– Seniors who live at the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s (PHA) Mount Olivet development in West Philadelphia are weathering the pandemic, thanks to the action of TruCare, one of the agency’s partners.
The senior home care provider provides workshops to PHA seniors about health and wellness. With the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, they offered to provide supplies that seniors might otherwise go without or have to leave their residences to buy. The firm offered to provide items such as masks, food donations, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, and paper towels. TruCare dropped them off this past Thursday.
“We are very grateful when someone goes the extra mile to serve our seniors,” said PHA President and CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah. “These folks are most vulnerable during the pandemic and the less they have to travel for goods and services, the better. Having the proper nourishment is important to maintaining their health, as well as having the materials to clean surfaces where the virus might attach itself.”
TruCare dropped off canned fruits, vegetables, and soups; fruit and nutrition bars; boxes of rice, pasta, and mac and cheese; soda and water; paper towels, napkins, toilet paper, and reusable masks to help seniors protect themselves.
“At the end of the day it’s not about what you have or what you have accomplished. It’s about who you have lifted up. It’s about what you have given back. We wanted to give back to those in need, who have given before us when others were in need,” said the company in a general statement.
TruCare, which has 7 locations in Southeast Pennsylvania, focuses on building relationships and is a Medicaid Certified Agency that is licensed by the PA Department of Health.
PHA, Read by 4th and Sixers Star Help Kids “Get Lit”
Donation by Tobias Harris brings Thousands of Books to Children
(Philadelphia – May 20, 2020) – Kids at six Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) developments are adding to their home libraries, thanks to a partnership between the agency and Ready by 4th, a citywide campaign managed by the Free Library of Philadelphia, and Tobias Lit Labs, a philanthropic program run by 76ers star Tobias Harris. The donation by Harris, who’s an avid reader, has allowed children at six PHA sites to select 5 new books each for their home libraries.
“Reading is a key ingredient to success and I’m happy to be able to support getting books in children’s homes,” Harris said.
“We’re deeply grateful to Tobias Harris for his generous and thoughtful donation. I passionately believe that education is a game changer. Learning to read at an early age is the foundation for a good education,” said PHA President and CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah.
“We’re thrilled to receive this donation from Tobias Harris and Lit Labs that will benefit kids who live at PHA sites and others across Philadelphia,” said Jenny Bogoni, Executive Director of Read by 4th. “It’s important for children to learn to read at grade level by the time the reach 4th grade so they can become the next entrepreneurs, physicists, doctors or history teachers that contribute to improving our city’s neighborhoods and economy.”‘
books each for their home libraries. Shown here: a pickup site at the John F. Street Community Center in North Philadelphia.
Read by 4th is a coalition of partners working to protect every child’s right to read while putting in place common strategies to ensure that kids read at grade level by the time they enter the 4th grade. The organization is delivering approximately 25,000 books to children and families through its partnership with Tobias Lit Labs in Philadelphia during the current health emergency. PHA is the first recipient of these books. The other donations will include schools, churches, and community groups.
Fourth grade is the year when instruction shifts from learning to read to reading to learn. As a result, students who are not reading proficiently by the 4th grade may struggle in school and fall behind their peers. Research has shown that all children are capable of making great strides in their reading ability as long as they have support from adults inside and outside the classroom.
Read by 4th partners have six goals that include recruiting a Reading Captain for every block in Philadelphia, creating literacy rich neighborhoods, and supporting perfect school attendance each week because every day counts, start to finish.
Mural Arts and City Health Develop “Space Pads” for Six PHA Sites
(Philadelphia – May 5, 2020)- Six Philadelphia Housing Authority sites that serve as meal distribution centers in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus are getting new beautifully-designed signs and decals to help promote social distancing, hand washing, and use of masks.
This spring, Mural Arts Philadelphia created an innovative program throughout Philadelphia to ensure that folks coming to get life-sustaining meals can do so in a safe manner, using visually appealing and eye-catching vinyl ground decals called “Space Pads.”
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health has provided funding to bring the Space Pads to meal distribution sites at six PHA locations, along with posters and other materials as part of a campaign to bring beauty and public health messaging together.
“Social distancing is critical to the health of all people during this health emergency. It is especially important to exercise precautionary measures, including social distancing, to limit the spread of this virus. We’re most grateful to Mural Arts and PDPH for including some of PHA’s larger developments in this program,” said PHA President and CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah.
“Art is a critical lifeline and a powerful tool as we collectively renavigate public space together,” said Jane Golden, Executive Director of Mural Arts Philadelphia. “We are grateful for the partnership of the Department of Public Health and the Philadelphia Housing Authority, and we are thrilled to utilize these Space Pads to help make food distribution sites safe while keeping the talented artists who design them employed.”
Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said, “The best thing that Philadelphians can do to help beat COVID-19 is to stay apart. We recognize that most people are not used to standing so far away from each other, so anything that we can do to help remind folks to keep to keep their distance is welcomed.”
Mural Arts is installing 20 pads at each site; 10 inside and 10 outside at six community centers including Abbottsford Homes, Bartram Village, John F. Street Center, Raymond Rosen, Westpark Apartments, and Wilson Park.
The arts organization has targeted high foot traffic locations in North, West/Southwest, and South Philadelphia that serve predominantly African American, Latinx, and/or immigrant customers/clients for this signage project. Funding from PDPH will allow installation at approximately 80 more locations.
