Journalist and Generocity freelancer Peak Johnson reflects on his conflicting feelings about what he is observing and experiencing in Philadelphia at this pivotal point in history.
I have never experienced the plight of homelessness, but I’ve seen many people throughout the streets of downtown Philadelphia who have. For the last six years, I have worked as a barista part time at the Philadelphia Free Library. I get homeless customers as well as the regular patrons of the library. Sometimes they arrive…
Not far from a bustling street and directly across from a heavily populated neighborhood sits a community beautifully decorated with sculptures and murals by The Village of Arts and Humanities. Deep within their North Philadelphia community, students of the Spells Writing Lab prepare for a daily routine of writing, reading, and other engaging activities. “I…
Students, faculty, and staff gathered at 17th and Spring Gardens, the location of the Community College of Philadelphia, to voice their concerns of an impending strike between the college’s professors and the school that was scheduled to take place this week. As of March 12, professors and union members have decided not to strike, but…
As Philadelphia’s homicide count rises, community groups and medical professionals are using trauma-based cognitive therapies to better serve victims. Now, Portland and Chicago are following suit.
What happens when people have access to a microphone and a platform, with an invitation to tell the invisible listener about their neighborhoods? PlanPhilly decided to find out. Last Thursday, we took the WHYY Listening Post out for a spin to Burholme, where the Food Trust closed off some of the major streets in Northeast…
A group of students is utilizing a class project in an effort to raise awareness about suicide, and honor the memory of a graduate who died just before the semester began. Days after he was declared missing by friends and family, Roswell Friend, a broadcast telecommunications and mass media major who graduated last spring, was…
As I type this I am staring at my newly earned Associate in Arts degree and certificate in creative writing from the Community College of Philadelphia. I am realizing that no matter how tedious, all of the work was worth it. All of the nights staying up to write papers, reading handout after handout, and studying…
Councilman William Greenlee wants to do something about the young users of the popular electric scooter balance board, nicknamed the hoverboard. Greenlee introduced the legislation Thursday and is hopeful that it will get passed. If successful, the bill would require parents to pay a $25 fine if their children are not wearing any type of…
Still struggling herself to find housing, Bartley wants to ask other women returning from prison, ‘What do you need to thrive back in your community?’