Organizers detail plan to use $7.5M in opioid settlement funding to improve Kensington

Officials with the Kensington Planning Process -- a collaborative effort that includes residents, organizations and civic groups -- on Wednesday, shared an update on the ongoing effort and detailed how millions in opioid settlement funding is planned to be used to improve the community.

Philadelphia expects to receive over $200 million over the, nearly, the next two decades though a national settlement with producers of opioids.

As part of the Kensington Planning Process, officials with the New Kensington Community Development Corporation on Wednesday discussed how they plan to use the $7.5 million that will be directed to Kensington from the opioid settlement.

They said there will be a number of initiatives, including about $2 million for repairs to homes throughout the city's poorest neighborhood and about $1.5 million for eviction and foreclosure protections for community residents.

In opening the meeting, NKCDC executive director Bill McKinney said in looking at addressing issues with the neighborhood, it's important to understand the issues that Kensington faces.

"I believe that there is a path forward and there's evidence of that today," said McKinney.

He said the poverty rate is about twice that of the rest of the city and, median income in Kensington is only about $20,000.

But, by addressing this, he said, long-time residents need to be protected from gentrification.

"Many of our residents are at severe risk of being displaced," he said. "And, it's not just displaced by the pressures of the opioid epidemic that we are experiencing but also by some of the progress that's coming."

In detailing the need for home repairs, Guillermo Garcia, a local resident who worked with Impact Services -- a nonprofit focused on community improvements -- said he found homes in dire need of help.

"I knew there were a lot of people in that neighborhood that needed that help," he said. "I found 17 homes where, you look through the floor and you could see the basement."

Funds have also been directed to parks and rec. centers throughout Kensington, as well.

Organizers also discussed results from community input sessions, which they compiled into a report and outlined next stages of the Kensington Planning Process, "which will focus on feedback on our recently published report and alignment with stakeholders on community-defined priorities," the New Kensington Community Development Corporation said in a statement.

The update comes as Philadelphia officials have set their sites on making improvements to the Kensington community -- as residents there have recently told municipal leaders that they have long felt abandoned amid the ongoing opioid crisis.