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Philly Mayor Cherelle Parker proposes $100 million to fund 'triage and wellness facilities' for people in addiction

Anna Orso, Max Marin and Aubrey Whelan, The Philadelphia Inquirer on

Published in News & Features

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia is a step closer to establishing city-funded intake centers for people in addiction after Mayor Cherelle L. Parker on Thursday proposed spending $100 million on new “triage and wellness facilities,” part of her pledge to end open-air drug markets.

While the mayor said the centers are a priority for her administration, she indicated during her first budget address to City Council on Thursday that the idea is a work in progress. Details about the proposed treatment options are scarce, and it’s not clear what role law enforcement would play in the facilities, including whether police would take people to them involuntarily.

Parker said administration officials, led by Managing Director Adam Thiel, are “examining every option for providing long-term care, treatment, and housing for those suffering from addiction, homelessness, and mental-health challenges.”

She added that Thiel earlier this month met with leaders from Philadelphia health care systems and insurance companies to develop recovery and treatment plans.

Opening the first such facility would be a shift in strategy for a city that saw a record number of overdose deaths in recent years. It could also be a flashpoint for residents, as some civic groups have long battled against drug treatment facilities opening in their neighborhood.

Locations haven’t been selected, but Parker said in an interview Thursday that she is “hopeful” about one space the administration is exploring. She declined to say where it is.

 

“We have to find facilities that can get up and running quickly,” she said.

The earmarked funds for triage facilities come a month after City Council members floated the idea. A group of four lawmakers who represent Kensington — the epicenter of the city’s opioid crisis — said they would seek funding for a city-run “triage center” as a means of getting people in addiction off the streets and into treatment.

They proposed that police and outreach workers could bring people who use drugs openly or commit nuisance crimes to intake centers to enter recovery or, if they refuse, they could be arrested. The city already has programs that offer rehabilitation options to people facing criminal charges for such low-level crimes as drug possession and prostitution.

“There will be court-driven treatment or court-driven programs that they will have to attend, or there will be arrest and consequences that may be possible,” Councilmember Mark Squilla said at the time.

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