The SKCP Blog
PPAC: We are Opening!!
South Kensington Community Partners
PPAC New Hours:
Wednesday–Saturday
12 – 6PM
On July 9, PPAC will be open once again to the public with a few necessary changes.
We are excited to welcome everyone back into our space, and to ensure the safety of all, we are taking the recommended precautions outlined here..
Spraygrounds: a way to cool off
South Kensington Community Partners
Spraygrounds a relatively safe way to cool off, experts say.
Meir Rinde, WHYY
With the public pools all closed this year, and reopening plans still unclear for senior centers, libraries, cinemas, and other diversions, the spraygrounds that opened yesterday are among the very few options residents have to get out of the house and cool off. Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell said the reopening follows lengthy consultations with the Health Department and the start of a limited green phase for the city last Friday that allows use of private pools. Read more here.
There are spraygrounds (aka playgrounds with sprinklers) across Philadelphia city this year. Here's a map.
List of spraygrounds around the neighborhood:
- Benson Park 1477 N 4th St
- Thomas Hart Park 1315-21 N 4th St.
- East Poplar Playground 820 N 8th St
Tips to enjoy parks safely [pdf]
Things to do. Recreation center summer camps also started Monday, with reduced enrollment and new health protocols, and the city is beginning to reinstall basketball hoops that were removed from playgrounds earlier this year to discourage games. Park & Recreation Finder, use this app to search for activities, parks, rec centers, and more.
Rental & Mortgage Assistance
South Kensington Community Partners
Apply ASAP, First come First served
Starting July 6 PHDC will accept applications for a new round of rental assistance. Renters and landlords may submit their application online, by fax, or by mail. Funds will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Click here for details and preview the application.
CARES funding for Pennsylvanians
CARES Assistance for Renters & Homeowners
The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, is a law to help people hurt financially by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. CARES assistance is now available in Pennsylvania for rent relief and mortgage relief.
Applications are available now for people interested in requesting CARES rent or mortgage relief due to COVID-19. More information click the appropriate link:
The CARES Pandemic Mortgage Assistance Program (PMAP). The CARES funding for mortgage relief must be completely distributed by November 30, 2020. Fact sheet [pdf]
Gov. Wolf Extends Eviction, Foreclosure Ban Through August
Rudy Chinchilla, NBCPhiladelphia
The moratorium, first enacted in March in order to protect people after massive job losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, was originally set to expire on Friday, July 10. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is extending his moratorium on evictions and foreclosures through Aug. 31, his press office announced Thursday. The executive order ensures people are not evicted or foreclosed upon if they have not been able to make payments and have not received aid from state or federal relief programs. More here.
The statewide moratorium on evictions and foreclosures because of nonpayment is scheduled to end July 10. Philadelphia City Council extended the eviction moratorium until Aug. 31 for residential renters and small businesses. The Federal Housing Administration has also extended its foreclosure moratorium through Aug. 31 for homeowners with federally backed mortgages.
FREE Boxes of Food every Saturday
South Kensington Community Partners
MORE ON MASKS!!!
South Kensington Community Partners
Is your COVID-19 mask working? If it’s a bandanna, maybe not much.
Tom Avril, Philadelphia Inquirer.
The shopper darts into a store, quickly tying on a bandanna or pulling up a shirt collar at the last minute. Enough to satisfy the overworked clerk who is tasked with enforcing COVID-19 mask requirements? Probably. But not so effective at preventing the spread of coronavirus, a new study suggests. The authors of the study did not use actual viruses or real people, but simulated coughing with a mannequin and a pump that sprayed a mixture of gelatin and water. The results, from engineers at Florida Atlantic University, were consistent with previous research, not to mention common sense: Not all masks are created equal.
More here.
A user’s guide to masks: What’s best at protecting others (and yourself)
Maria Godoy, WHYY
So you want to wear a face mask? Good call.
A growing body of evidence supports the idea that wearing face masks in public, even when you feel well, can help curb the spread of the coronavirus — since people can spread the virus even without showing symptoms. That’s the main reason to wear a mask: to protect other people from you. Face masks can also offer the wearer some protection — though how much varies greatly, depending on the type of mask. No mask will offer full protection, and they should not be viewed as a replacement for physical distancing of at least 6 feet from others, frequent hand-washing and avoiding crowds. When you combine masks with those measures, they can make a big difference.
But what kind of mask is best? Read here.
FREE COVID-19 TESTING
South Kensington Community Partners
STEPHEN AND SANDRA SHELLER 11TH STREET FAMILY HEALTH SERVICES
850 N. 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
Stephen and Sandra Sheller Family Health Service Center is offering free COVID-19 testing in North Philadelphia for anyone with or without symptoms. Registration is encouraged. This site is open Tuesdays every week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and does not require any paperwork or appointments for walk-up or drive-thru testing.Tests will be administered until supply runs out. Results notification in 5-7 business days. Testing may be cancelled due to inclement weather. More here.
To make an Appointment-
Phone: 215.769.1100
For General Information-
Phone: 267.359.5929
Fax: 215.769.1119
Recycling Collections Resume
South Kensington Community Partners
Starting July 6th, the Streets Department will resume collecting recycling every week along with trash. Residents should place both trash and recycling out on their normal collection day at their regular pick up location. Regular trash and recycling collections will continue on or as close to its normal schedule as possible. To help smooth the transition back to every week collection, the Sanitation Convenience Centers will remain open under a modified schedule for residents to dispose of items from Tuesday through Saturday, between 8 am and 8 pm.
The Streets Department thanks residents for their understanding during this time and as adjustments were made to provide essential services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
To learn more about your recycling schedule, please call 311 or visit philadelphiastreets.com/recycling.
Summer resources for Philadelphia families
South Kensington Community Partners
Philadelphia has over 1600 PHLpreK students getting ready to go to kindergarten in the fall, find free food and meals this summer, register for summer camps, early childhood resources for the summer and a guide on what reopening means for children.
Click here for more information.
Pennsylvania makes masks mandatory in all public spaces.
South Kensington Community Partners
Rob Tornoe, Philadelphia Inquirer.
The new order, signed by Secretary of Health Rachel Levine, mandates that masks must be worn in public whenever anyone leaves home and can’t maintain a proper social distance from others. Children under the age of two are exempt from the mandate, as are people who cannot wear a mask due to a medical condition.
More details here.
Philly is in a modified ‘green’ phase now. Here’s what you can and can’t do
Emily Scott, WHYY
As coronavirus cases rise across the country, they’re rising in Philly too: the city is averaging more than 100 new cases a day, and about one-third of new cases reported are in people under the age of 30. Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said on Thursday that the city is now experiencing a “second wave” of the coronavirus. The soonest Philly can now enter the unrestricted green phase is August 1, Farley said. And if cases continue to rise, it’s possible certain activities that are currently allowed may be off-limits.
More here.
What the green phase means for Parks & Rec sites
Darren Fava, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation.
Philadelphia begins the green phase of reopening in early July. COVID-19 is not gone, so we must reopen with care. Read more about our progress on the Reopening With Care site.
Here’s what the reopening guidance means for Philadelphia Parks & Recreation services and sites:
Philadelphia Eviction Prevention Program
South Kensington Community Partners
No eviction hearings until after September 2nd, 2020.
If you had a court date scheduled between July 6th and August 31st you do NOT need to go to court on that date. You will get a new court date in the fall. Call the Philly Tenant Hotline 267-443-2500 now for possible legal representation!
Register for the webinar on Zoom: https://bit.ly/2KU9cns
Or join us live on Facebook: www.facebook.com/clsphila
Send us your question ahead of time at: bit.ly/TenantTuesdayCLS
We will not answer anyone’s personal legal questions live.
Composting @ La Esquina Garden
South Kensington Community Partners
Phase 2! On July 6, PHDC will accept applications for a new round of rental assistance.
South Kensington Community Partners
Starting July 6 PHDC will accept applications for a new round of rental assistance. Renters and landlords may submit their application online, by fax, or by mail. Funds will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Click here for details and preview the application.
New program offers emergency assistance for renters and homeowners
Ayana Jones, Tribune Staff Writer
Emergency aid is available to help people who are struggling financially and facing eviction and foreclosures due to the pandemic. Money for the program comes from $175 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) funding. About $125 million of the funding is reserved to help renters and $25 million is being allocated for mortgage assistance.
Applications for the new program will be accepted starting July 6 through Sept. 30.
County-level organizations across the state will process applications for renters. Robin Wiessmann, executive director of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, said a system is in place to process applications "expeditiously." The program is eligible to residents who meet the income guidelines and have lost their job or have seen their income decrease by 30% because of the pandemic.
Philadelphia residents can apply directly to PHDC at phlrentassist.org. Residents in other counties may access applications at phfa.org/pacares.
IMPORTANT UPDATES
The statewide moratorium on evictions and foreclosures because of nonpayment is scheduled to end July 10. Philadelphia City Council extended the eviction moratorium until Aug. 31 for residential renters and small businesses. The Federal Housing Administration has also extended its foreclosure moratorium through Aug. 31 for homeowners with federally backed mortgages.
Have you seen a Spotted Lanternfly? Let’s check!
South Kensington Community Partners
Penn State University and Extension, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and PA Department of Agriculture (PDA) have joined forces to control and contain the spread of SLF. Penn State University is leading the research efforts. USDA and PDA are actively treating locations where SLF has been reported.
Please join the effort to control and prevent the spread of Spotted Lanternfly. We need everyone to protect their properties, communities, and the Commonwealth from this invasive insect that has the potential to change our landscape and quality of life.
Report sightings of the Spotted Lanternfly here and more details here.
PHDC streamlines public land sale system
South Kensington Community Partners
PHDC streamlines public land sale system for those envisioning side yards, community gardens
Ryan Briggs, WHYY Plan Philly
City officials have announced yet another overhaul to Philadelphia’s system for selling publicly owned vacant lots, aimed at streamlining sales to residents seeking to create side yards or community gardens.
Philadelphia Housing Development Corp., a quasi-municipal agency that manages certain city land sales, will launch new online platforms that will allow buyers to formally apply to purchase land for such uses. Anyone with an outstanding EOI will be notified by email and U.S. mail that they must reapply.
More details here.
S U R V E Y
South Kensington Community Partners
Examining Influences on the Work Commute Mode Choices of Essential Workers in Philadelphia during the COVID-19 Pandemic
To participate scan the QR code or visit https://upenn.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2moPBGFDR9wXgZn
GET FREE AND AFFORDABLE INTERNET DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS
South Kensington Community Partners
Internet access is extremely important, especially during a pandemic. But many families can’t afford home internet and don’t know how to get help.
We have a long way to go before everyone who needs internet access can get it. But here are some options that are available now in Philadelphia and across the country:
Free Outdoor Pubic Wi-Fi
Non-Prepaid Internet Providers
Pre-paid Internet Providers
Click here for more information about each option and how to use it.
Philadelphia COVID-19 Recovery Office
South Kensington Community Partners
Working toward a successful, fiscally responsible pandemic recovery that strengthens the economy while protecting vulnerable populations.
The COVID-19 Recovery Office works to ensure that Philadelphia recovers from the pandemic in a way that:
Protects public health and safety.
Is fiscally responsible for the City and its taxpayers.
Addresses the most pressing community hardships caused by the pandemic.
Puts Philadelphians back to work.
Helps businesses in hard-hit communities reopen and thrive.
Subscribe to our mailing list here and receive updates from the COVID-19 Recovery Office.
FREE FOOD DISTRIBUTION
South Kensington Community Partners
If you would like to volunteer to help distribute or deliver food on an upcoming Saturday, please email info@southkensingtoncommunity.org
Census Jobs
South Kensington Community Partners
Hiring will begin again in June (apply here)
The regional office is planning to start bringing people on board for census jobs as early as this week and into June.
We are working to have online recruitment sessions begin in May with Philadelphia Works, Inc.