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From YouTube: Councilmembers Quiñones-Sánchez, Squilla Attend Mayor's Update on Opioid Response 10-18-2018
Description
Councilwoman Maria D. Quiñones-Sánchez (7th District) and Councilman Mark Squilla (1st) joined Mayor Jim Kenney and other City Officials at the Emergency Operations Center to provide an update on the City of Philadelphia’s emergency response to combat the opioid epidemic in Kensington and surrounding neighborhoods.
A
All
right
welcome
everyone,
and
thank
you
for
all
coming
out
to
the
Emergency
Operations
Center
today
we're
here,
because
two
weeks
ago,
I
signed
an
executive
order
declaring
the
opioid
epidemic
a
disaster
and
I
called
on
members
of
our
administration
to
take
a
new
approach
to
address
it.
This
crisis
is
the
worst
public
health
epidemic
I've
seen
in
my
lifetime.
It's
killing
more
Philadelphians
than
AIDS
at
the
peak
of
that
epidemic.
Countless
individuals
are
suffering
from
substance
use
disorder
and
it
truly
breaks
our
hearts
to
think
about
what
they're
experiencing.
A
Similarly
opioid
addiction
has
driven
up
the
number
of
individuals
suffering
street
homelessness.
In
summer
of
2017,
there
were
approximately
900
unsheltered
individuals
of
Philadelphia,
400
of
whom
were
living
on
the
streets
of
Kensington
and
Fair
hill
by
Summer
2018.
This
rose
to
approximately
1400
unsheltered
individuals,
700
of
whom
were
living
in
Kensington
O'farrell.
This
crisis
has
created
unacceptable
conditions
for
Kensington,
and
the
surrounding
neighborhoods
drugs
are
brought,
bought
and
sold.
Addiction
is
led
to
prostitution
and
our
streets.
School
yards
and
parks
are
littered
with
trash
human
waste
and
used
syringes.
A
Our
kids
residents
and
commuters
dodge
illegal
activity
on
their
way
to
school
and
to
work.
Many
are
unable
to
take
advantage
of
the
playgrounds
of
public
spaces.
They
should
be
able
to
enjoy
I've
heard
their
concerns
at
community
meetings
and
they
reach
out
through
letters,
emails
and
social
media.
Believe
me,
they're,
frustrated
and
for
good
reason.
Despite
the
vast
efforts
and
investments
by
the
city,
it's
become
apparent
that
our
current
approach
is
not
working.
We
must
take
on
a
new
strategy
to
tackle
these
complex
issues.
New
partnerships
must
be
forged.
A
The
new
resources
must
be
brought
to
bear
so
every
day
over
the
last
two
weeks,
our
office
of
emergency
management
hope
in
this
Emergency
Operations
Center,
two
representatives
of
dozens
of
city
agencies,
departments
and
offices.
Under
the
leadership
of
the
managing
directors
office,
participants
have
been
sharing
information,
identifying
existing
resources
analyzing,
where
we
have
gaps
and
organizing
our
new
emergency
response.
It's
an
effort,
we're
calling
the
Philadelphia
resilience
project,
because
Philadelphians
have
proven
time
and
time
again
that
we're
resilient
and
there's
nothing.
We
can't
overcome
we're
a
city
of
neighborhoods,
look
out
for
one
another.
A
As
I've
said
many
times
before,
there
are
no
throwaway
people.
We
owe
it
to
our
fellow
Philadelphians
to
do
everything
we
can
to
tap
into
our
resilience
and
overcome
this
crisis.
Once
a
for
all
now,
I'd
like
to
acknowledge
Mike,
deboard
eNOS,
our
managing
director,
Brian
Abernathy,
first
deputy
managing
director
and
Noel
foison,
acting
director
of
OEM
for
their
leadership
as
well
as
every
participant
in
this
activation
I,
also
acknowledge
Councilwoman
Maria
Sanchez.
A
It
was
here
in
councilman,
smart
school
who
was
on
his
way,
who
have
been
vocal
advocates
and
change
agents
for
their
districts
he's
here.
We
could
not
do
this
work
without
them
and
their
staff
and
I
sincerely
thank
them
for
their
partnership.
In
this
new
endeavor
now
I
like
to
ask
councilman,
Sanchez
and
Councilman
squalor
come
up,
say
a
few
words.
B
Thank
you
I
want
to
publicly
thank
the
mayor
on
his
leadership
in
ensuring
that
not
only
are
we
working
hard
as
the
city
to
address
this,
but
that
we
work
smart
and
part
of
working
smart
is
what
takes
place
in
this
room
every
day,
as
departments
figure
out
a
way
to
better
leverage,
the
resources
that
we
have
on
the
ground
and
better
partner
with
the
community.
Folks
on
the
ground,
who
are
incredibly
frustrated
with
what
has
happened.
An
occupation
is
not
a
terrible
tolerable
situation.
B
People
homeless,
living
in
the
streets
is
not
a
tolerable
situation
and
I
believe
that,
while
government
cannot
resolve
all
of
the
issues,
we
owe
it
to
the
long-term
residents
trapped
in
this
national
crisis.
To
try
to
do
a
better
job
to
to
a
better
job
means
one,
as
a
mayor
said
in
acknowledgment
that
working
in
silos
is
not
going
to
address
the
situation
that
working
in
silos
and
not
respecting
the
public
safety
and
the
children
and
the
seniors
who
are
trapped
and
walk
through
this
every
day
is
not
acceptable.
B
B
What
I
most
appreciate
about
this
effort
is
what
doesn't
work
gets
fixed
and
if
we
have
to
start
all
over
again,
we
will
because
that's
what
the
residents
of
Quezon,
ttyn
and
fair
help
deserve
a
government
that
is
nimble
enough
to
acknowledge
that
this
task,
that
is
all
across
the
country,
that
we
are
going
to
address
this
and
try
to
make
things
work
and
every
day
the
quality
of
life
of
those
residents
has
to
get
a
little
better,
and
that
is
the
goal.
Thank
you
so
very
much.
C
Thank
you
and
I
want
to
agree
with
my
colleague,
councilman
Sanchez,
who
has
been
at
the
forefront
of
this
with
myself
out
on
the
streets
and
talking
to
the
neighbors,
the
residents
and
the
folks,
also
under
the
tunnels
and
living
on
the
streets
of
Kensington
and
Port
Richmond
area.
I,
too,
want
to
thank
the
mayor
and
the
administration.
In
the
end,
the
OHS
office
Mike
D
Brian
Abernathy,
for
willingness
to
listen
to
us
and
work
with
us
on
this.
C
And
you
know
we
don't
always
see
eye
to
eye
on
every
issue,
but
it's
important
that
we
feel,
like
our
messages,
are
being
heard
and
our
messages
that
were
carrying
from
the
community
to
the
administration.
And
this
is
not
an
easy
task
when
you
have
collaboration
by
a
whole
bunch
of
different
departments
working
with
mainly
the
police
department,
the
EM
DA's
office,
even
out
street
outreach
and
other
independent
bodies.
It
gets
complicated.
C
But
knowing
that
the
administration
and
the
NGOs
office
and
the
mayor
is
willing
to
work
outside
the
box
that
come
up
with
other
ideas
on
how
to
approach
a
situation.
As
you
heard,
councilwoman
sanchez
say
that
how
the
neighbors
are
being
affected
surrounding
this
epidemic
and
how
the
people
that
are
actually
living
in
the
streets
that
are
a
part
of
the
epidemic.
How
can
we
do
a
better
job
both
to
help
them
help
themselves,
but
also
help
the
neighborhoods
that
are
suffering
from
this?
C
C
We
know
that
things
that
we
try
may
not
work,
but
we're
trying
them
and
I
think
that's
the
most
exciting
part
we're
trying
something
different,
we're
looking
at
ways
to
make
it
better
for
both
the
people
that
are
on
the
streets
and
for
the
people
affected
surrounding
it.
So
I
got
to
give
again
the
administration
a
lot
of
credit
for
willingness
to
to
do
this
and
I
know
that
if
we
do
this
together,
we
will
make
a
difference
again.
C
C
D
D
The
mayor
has
convened
an
opioid
task
force
and
we're
currently
acting
on
recommendations
of
that
task
force
that
would
improve
treatment
options
and
limit
the
availability
of
prescription
opioid
drugs.
We
have
spent
tens
of
millions
of
dollars
on
police,
EMS,
behavioral
health
services,
increasing
shelter,
beds,
narcan
distribution
and
training,
clearing
several
encampments,
picking
up
needles,
clearing
short
dumping
sites,
sealing
vacant
properties,
cleaning
graffiti
and
the
list
goes
on.
D
We
have
worked
very
hard
to
listen
and
to
work
closely
with
community
organizations
and
residents
to
respond
to
their
concerns
as
the
same
at
the
same
time
as
we
try
to
move
people
into
treatment.
Despite
these
efforts,
the
challenges
in
Kensington
and
surrounding
communities
hundreds
have
addicted
and
homeless,
thousands
of
discarded
needles,
unsanitary
living
conditions
and
an
environment
that
no
one
should
be
forced
to
live
in
persist.
This
requires
collaboration
and
coordination.
Our
response
requires
collaboration
and
coordination
on
this
city's
part
and
bringing
more
stakeholders
to
the
table.
D
Well
is
going
to
take
us
through
the
rhythm
of
our
day-to-day
operations
here
and
what
they're
doing
to
mount
this
new
effort
following
Noelle
Tamar
Alexander,
the
MDOT's
day-to-day
lead
in
this
effort,
we'll
walk
through
the
goals
and
priorities
that
have
been
established
for
each
of
the
seven
mission
areas
again
to
more.
Thank
you
for
accepting
this
new
responsibility
and
Brian.
Thank
you
for
your
excellent
leadership
in
mounting
this
effort.
E
Hi
I'm
Noah
poison,
I'm,
the
acting
director
in
the
Office
of
Emergency
Management.
We
activate
this
room,
the
city's
emergency
operation
center
or
EOC
to
coordinate
city
services
and
emergency
response
during
snowstorms
and
Super
Bowls.
The
EOC
brings
together
decision-makers
and
allows
for
face-to-face
problem-solving
to
ensure
our
response
is
smart
and
decisive.
The
EOC
model
cuts
through
red
tape
and
allows
for
quick
action
and
course
correction.
For
the
past
two
weeks
we
convene
daily
meetings
to
support
the
seven
mission
area
leads
identified
in
the
executive
order.
E
E
E
Now
that
these
goals
have
been
identified,
the
EEOC
will
move
towards
a
more
regular
schedule
with
Monday
and
Friday
all-hands
meetings,
including
executive
leadership
and
Tuesday,
through
Thursday
focus
on
project
specific
planning
to
accomplish
our
goals.
The
Philadelphia
resilience
project
is
a
marathon,
not
a
sprint.
Tomorr
will
now
walk
you
through
the
seven
mission
areas
in
their
immediate,
short-term
and
long-term
goals.
F
Thank
you.
The
executive
order
of
references,
seven
missions,
mission
area,
one
cleaning,
major
camp
Metz,
which
is
led
by
Beverly
woods
of
the
Managing
Directors
office,
health
and
human
services,
cluster
Thank
You
missionary
to
reducing
criminal
activity
led
by
Evangeline
Manos
management,
director's
office
of
criminal
justice
and
public
safety
mission
area
number
three:
reducing
the
number
of
unsheltered
individuals
led
by
Liz
Hirsch
office
of
homeless
services,
mission
area
for
reducing
trash
and
litter,
led
by
Tom
Conway,
community
life,
Improvement,
Program
mission
area,
five,
reducing
overdoses
and
a
spread
of
infectious
diseases
led
by
dr.
F
Carolyn,
Johnson
Philadelphia,
Department
of
Public
Health
mission
areas.
Six
increasing
increasing
treatment
options
led
by
Sandi
Vasco
Department
of
Behavioral
Health
and
intellectual
disability
services
mission
area;
seven,
mobilizing
community
resources
led
by
Damaris
Feliciano,
managing
directors
to
community
clusters
office.
Allow
me
to
highlight
some
of
our
goals.
The
complete
list
of
goals
will
be
given
out
the
completion
of
this
press
conference
mission
area.
One
immediate
goal:
Claire
Frankfort
Avenue
at
Camp,
met
by
November
15th
prevent
the
formation
of
new
encampments
on
all
vacant
properties
near
the
Frankfort,
Avenue
encampment
and
surrounding
areas
short
term
goal.
F
Begin
outreach
declare
Emerald
Street
encampment
by
January
15th
long-term
goal
working
with
partners
to
develop
strategy
with
stakeholders
prevent
encampments
from
relocating
or
reforming
missionary.
Our
number
two
reduction
in
criminal
activity,
immediate
goal,
increased
safety
measures
for
children
using
foot
and
bike
patrols
and
Dulli
school
checks
create
and
strengthen
existing
safe
corridor
routes
for
travel
to
and
from
schools
in
the
area.
F
Implement
police,
assisted
diversion
program
in
the
East
Police
Division
short
term
goal;
enhancer
federal
state
partnership
to
partnerships
to
address
narcotic
supply
and
distribution,
long
term
goal,
creating
stress-free,
safe
masks,
transit
corridors
mission
area,
three
reduction
reduction
in
unsheltered
population,
immediate,
immediate
goal,
identify
temporary
site
for
24-hour
navigation
center,
including
respite
and
wraparound
social
services.
Short-Term
goal
exploring
median
housing
inspired
by
Seattle's
use
of
the
tiny
house
village
model
long-term
goal
examine
affordable
housing
strategies
that
include
family
reunification
and
employee
employment
assistance
mission
area.
For
us,
the
media
goes
starting
conducted.
F
Volunteers
we've
lived
experiences
to
assist
with
regular
cleaning
of
the
neighborhood
use,
bicycles
for
mobile
collection
of
discarded
syringes,
long-term
goal
pilot
mechanical
street
cleaning
program
or
major
arteries
in
a
Kensington
area
mission
area,
5,
reduction
of
overdoses
and
harmed
the
harm
reduction
media
go
prevent
the
transmission
of
HIV
and
hepatitis
by
screen
and
vaccination
in
Lincolnton
medical
care,
increase,
short
term
goal,
increased
distribution
or
not
naloxone
and
related
training
to
the
community
and
public
public
agencies.
Long
term
goal
implement
opioid
fatality
review
process
mission
area,
6,
disseminate
information
on
all
treatment
capacity,
access,
I'm.
F
Sorry,
let
me
go
back
missionary
sixties,
increase
medical,
assisted
treatment
to
the
community,
disseminate
information
on
all
treatment
capacity,
access,
deploying
mobile
outreach
teams,
including
medical
professionals,
to
provide
medical,
medical
medication,
assisted
treatment,
short
term
goal,
expand
warm
handoffs
between
emergency
departments
and
treatment
options.
Mission
area,
7,
mobilizing
community
resources,
create
a
community
calendar
to
encourage
neighborhood
engagement
by
highlighting
programming
across
all
mission
areas,
identify
potential
funding
partners,
creating
Train,
3
filly
3-1-1
unit
for
specialized
concerta
in
fair
hill
information
and
assignments.
F
Long-Term
goal
is
to
build
strategies
for
citywide
awareness
and
engagement
around
opioid
issue
x',
like
I
said,
we
will
release
the
fuller
list
of
all
our
goals,
both
immediate
short
and
long
term.
At
the
end
of
this
press
conference.
All
of
these
folks,
standing
behind
me
today
has
put
a
lot
of
work
and
a
lot
of
effort,
along
with
the
agencies
that
Noelle
mentioned,
they
come
up
with
these
goals.
This
is
something
we're
very
proud
of
to
help
the
residents
of
Philippi.
Thank
you.
G
Thank
you,
Tamar
I'm,
Brian,
Abernathy
I'm,
the
first
deputy
managing
director,
the
work
that
these
teams
have
done
in
the
last
eight
days
has
been
significant
and
the
goals
they
Lao
laid
out
were
ambitious
and
the
information
that
we
just
provided
was
a
lot.
Teams
have
worked
with
multiple
agencies
reported
to
multiple
executives
received
feedback
from
community
organizations
as
we
move
towards
implementation.
That
work
will
continue
and
we'll
make
adjustments
as
needed.
G
What
has
struck
me
most
about
the
work
we've
done
over
the
past
two
years
in
what
has
been
reinforced
over
the
past
two
weeks.
Is
how
strong
this
community
is.
These
community
members
love
their
neighborhood,
they
support
one.
Another
they've
found
strength
where
others
have
found
desperation
and
how
strong
our
staff
has
been.
No
other
Police
Division
faces
the
types
of
issues
that
East
Division
faces:
the
courage
that
librarians
have
shown
in
reversing
overdoses.
G
The
hope
that
outreach
workers
and
doctors
bring
to
those
suffering
with
a
horrible
disease
and
the
determination
of
sanitation
workers
and
clip
staff,
as
they
pick
up
tons
of
trash
and
clean
dozens
of
vacant.
Lots
again
and
again,
these
men
and
women
are
pushing
a
rock
up
a
hill
only
to
have
it
roll
back
on
them
every
day,
and
yet
they
keep
on
pushing.
They
are
the
best
of
city,
and
our
city
must
do
best
by
them.
G
These
men
and
women
have
defined
success
by
helping
one
person
at
a
time,
cleaning
one
law
at
a
time
supporting
one
neighbor
at
a
time
if
how
to
define
success
that
way,
because
the
issues
they're
facing
are
so
overwhelming
and
our
systems
are
being
crushed,
we
should
all
be
inspired
by
the
resilience
of
our
staff
and
of
these
community
members,
and
you
must
also
remember
to
have
a
clear
vision
of
success.
Our
children
must
be
able
to
walk
to
school
safely,
to
be
able
to
play
in
parks
and
to
be
free
of
needles.
G
Our
seniors
must
be
able
to
sit
on
their
front
porch
that
they
don't
have
to
clean
human
excrement
off
before
they
sit
down.
Business
owners
should
be
able
to
open
their
stores
without
dodging
sleeping
bodies,
and
those
suffering
with
addiction
should
be
able
to
find
help
and
support
and
housing
the
work,
our
staff,
our
leaders
and
our
communities
have
done
to
date
has
been
amazing,
but
the
struggles
were
facing
are
still
significant
and
we
will
not
be
able
to
face
those
struggles
alone.
G
We're
calling
on
our
philanthropic
partners,
members
of
the
business
community,
religious
organizations,
civic
associations
and
nonprofit
organizations.
Residents
concerned,
citizens
and
service
providers
to
support
Philadelphia's
resilience
project
help
those
that
suffer
from
substance
use
disorder,
survive
their
disease,
help
families
stay
strong
through
some
of
the
most
strong
times
of
their
lives
and
help
our
community
our
neighbors
endure
and
overcome
the
conditions
of
the
that
they
struggle
with
every
day
and
I
hope
that
we
all
can
remember
and
learn
from
what
Kensington's
resilience
really
has
been.
At
this
point,
we're
happy
to
take
your
questions.
A
First
of
all,
the
issue
was
not
as
exacerbated
as
it
is
today:
we've
basically
doubled
our
homeless
population
in
the
last
year,
or
so
so
we
were
dressing
the
problem
as
best
we
could
we've
recognized
that
it
was
billowing
out
of
control
and
now
we're
taking
another
approach.
This
is
not
easy
work
and
this
is
not
an
easy
situation.
This
is
a
situation.
That's
been
created
by
the
pharmaceutical
industries,
who
told
people
these
drugs
were
not
addictive
by
unscrupulous
doctors
who
over
prescribe
and
people
have
been
in
the
in
the
clutch
of
this
problem.
A
It's
got
nothing
to
do
with
my
hand.
On
the
Bible
trust
me,
it's
got
to
do
with
getting
the
work
done
and
we're
doing
it
and
to
acknowledge
the
fact
that
this
issue
has
a
as
doubled
at
least
doubled
in
the
last
year.
So
it
wasn't,
it
wasn't
as
bad
as
it
was
is
now
and
we're
addressing
it.
There's
nothing
else.
I
can
do
but
address
it.
Bible
aside,.
A
Success
is
the
reduction
of
death
reduction
of
death.
Now
you
can
hear
what
you
want
to
hear
from
the
federal
government
about
supervised
injection
sites
and
other
things
and
people
get
locked
up
and
all
that
I
wish.
They
were
concerned
about
people
dying.
We
are
unrolling
the
route
again
to
at
least
probably
1,200
or
so
opioid
deaths
this
year,
and
my
definition
of
success
is
less
death,
less
death
and
that's
the
first,
the
first
issue.
A
The
second
issue
is
kind
of
putting
this
neighborhood
back
together
again,
so
that
people
can
feel
comfortable
in
their
own
homes.
Their
children
can
walk
to
school,
and
you
know
we
did
not.
We
did
not
ship
heroin
and
opioids
into
this
neighborhood.
We
are
trying
to
reach
to
push
back
from
what
has
been
foisted
upon
us
by
other
factors
because
of
greed,
and
that's
all.
This
is
about
our
gun.
A
Violence
is
about
greed,
because
no
one
wants
to
stop
selling
guns,
and
our
opioid
addiction
issue
is
about
greed,
because
these
Doc's
and
these
companies
won't
stop
pushing
this
stuff
on
our
people
period,
I
had
I
had
surgery
a
year
and
a
half
or
so
ago
I
walked
out
of
the
hospital
with
30,
oxycodone
and
I
asked
by
doctor.
Why?
Why
do
I
need
this
I
think
I
use
four
and
then
I
went
the
Tylenol
800
milligrams
and
I
was
fine,
we're
doing
the
best
we
can.
I
H
Yes,
outreach
and
recruitment
never
ever
stopped.
It
is
part
of
the
city's
infrastructure,
but
yes,
they
have
continued
to
do
outreach
throughout
Kensington,
as
well
as
those
hotspots,
including
the
encampments,
and
we
recently
transitioned
those
who
were
in
our
Kensington
nav
center
into
other
housing.
Each
of
them
has
housing
plans
so
that
we
could
empty
out
that
facility
to
have
a
place
for
people
who
are
leaving
the
encampments
to
be.
I
H
There
is
the
same
navigation
Center
that
we
opened
for
the
original
encampments
and
the
people
who
were
in
that
navigation.
Center
have
housing
plans,
so
they
have
moved
on
into
other
housing,
and
you
know
so.
We
essentially
emptied
it
so
that
we
would
have
a
place
for
40
people,
leaving
the
encampment
all
on
Frankfort
Avenue.
G
You
know
I,
we
met
with
a
number
of
the
community
leaders
earlier
this
week.
You
know
and
I
think
I
don't
want
to
speak
for
them,
but
I
think
they're,
cautiously
optimistic
I.
Think
the
the
work
that
we're
doing
and
I
want
to
commend
the
managing
director
I
think
the
work
he
has
led
over
the
last
two
years
has
been
significant.
G
You
know,
and
if
it's
literally
tens
of
millions
of
dollars
in
conclude,
FY
19,
that's
over
30
million
dollars
in
two
years
and
in
one
community,
but
clearly
we
haven't
been
doing
something
right
and
so
it's
time
to
adjust.
I
think
the
teams
that
we've
put
together
the
cross
collaboration,
the
ability
to
move
nimbly
quickly
to
be
able
to
fail
fast
and
to
recognize
those
mistakes
and
move
forward
and
the
accountability
that
we're
building
into
the
system
is
something
that
I
think
has
given
residents
some
comfort.
It
is
a
different
approach.
G
It
is
taking
everything
that
all
of
our
different
departments
are
doing
and
putting
it
through
one
through
one
chain
of
command,
in
a
way
that
people
can
easily
see
and
we
can
easily
identify
gaps,
and
that
was
the
that's
the
intent
of
incident
management,
and
so
you
know,
honestly
in
three
months,
I
might
turn
around
and
say:
well,
hey
that
didn't
work
and
it's
try
to
something
new
I'm,
not
I,
believe
this
is
the
right
path
forward.
I
believe
that
we're
gonna
be
see
success,
but
it's
not
councilman
Sanchez's
point
we're
gonna,
try
something
new.
G
What
has
happened
in
Kensington
and
what
we
as
a
city,
not
just
city
government,
but
we
as
a
city
as
city
leaders
have
allowed
to
happen
in
Kensington,
is
wrong.
We
have
to
uplift
that
community,
if
we're
going
to
continue
to
lift
up
Philadelphia,
we
have
to
figure
out
how
to
solve
the
problems
at
Kensington
is
facing
because
it
is
endemic
and
systemic
or
systemic
through
the
rest
of
the
city
and
I'm,
confident
that
the
city
and
this
administration
is
determined
to
figure
out
how
to
solve
those
systemic
problems.