Vern Anastasio

Mayor Parker was at the Art Museum last night for the Midnight Run. (She may have gotten booed)… The run went down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and around Logan Circle and back. It was an amazing event. But now let’s talk about the homeless situation on the Parkway. Last night, the Parkway was shut down and there were at least 50 homeless people sleeping on the streets. One even had a tent. It is out of control. Especially around Logan Circle. At least 100 homeless people from City Hall to the Art Museum. Do we really want the first thing that people visiting the Franklin Institute seeing is 50 homeless people in the park? Is giving out food in LOVE Park at 6pm on a Wednesday what we want visitors to the City to see and deal with? That cannot become the new normal. We need compassion. We need services. We need treatment, housing, and support for people who are struggling. But compassion does not mean accepting a situation where some of our city’s public spaces have effectively become outdoor shelters. We need the State to step up and help solve this problem. All 67 counties in PA need to be a part of the solution because homelessness doesn’t stop at city boundaries. But we CANNOT have our elected officials just standby and do nothing. We cannot ignore this problem. City Councilmember Jay Young said that he wasn’t going to criminalize homelessness. I agree that homelessness should not be criminalized. But that does not mean we accept the status quo. If Philadelphia wants to attract businesses, create jobs, grow our tax base, and become a city of 2 million people… we need to continue to make Philadelphia a better place to live… for everyone. We can do both: help people in need while also protecting our public spaces.