City money has to get into the hands of people who are doing the work on the ground—not just the largest organizations, said Siddiq Moore, owner of Siddiq’s Water Ice, where the event took place. Community members are driven to help make change, but resources often go elsewhere. “We’re looking for the Mayor and everybody else to come save us, but we have to take charge of the block and be the change that we want to see,” said Moore. “For me, the solution is entrepreneurship.” Siddiq’s Real Fruit Water Ice employs at-risk young people to provide them with an alternative vision of their future. “My passion is trying to reach the guys on the block, the so-called misfits people don’t want to deal with,” he said. |
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Michael Thorpe of Mt. Vernon Manor CDC agreed. His organization works with returning citizens who’ve been involved with the justice system. When he was younger, “we needed someone to advocate for us, that I’m worth saving, I’m worth making a change,” he said. “One of the things that’s most important is transitional thinking. I would like for [the people I work with] to think about the impact of the decisions that they make, to hear that entrepreneur opportunities are available and the investment is made in inner-city youth.” “Partnering with communities is where the city should look to invest, because you cannot reach the guy on the corner if he doesn’t know you.” |
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The city’s large employers must also invest in Philadelphia’s communities, said Soneyet Muhammad, Director of Workforce and Economic Inclusion at Drexel University’s Office of Community Partnerships. “Hire people who live in the community that you want to serve. Fund those organizations that are already serving the communities in which you want to have an impact.” That includes investing in training. “Sometimes there’s a mismatch between the skills that you need and who you are able to identify with those skills in the community,” Muhammad said. “You have to have the capacity to train.” If employers are not willing to make that effort, she said, they need to take a step back. Local attendees had suggestions, too—from improving the grants process to making sure job training sites are accessible. Philadelphia Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who attended the event, said that the city is hoping to partner with new organizations. She urged residents to contact City Council with recommendations of small organizations that are making an impact but might otherwise be overlooked. Read more takeaways in the Billy Penn article by panel moderator Layla Jones. You can also watch the full livestream here. Stay tuned for additional community forums on ending Philly’s gun violence crisis! Kallel Edwards
CeaseFirePA Philadelphia Organizer |
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