We Can Make Philadelphia Smarter

One-fourth [24%] of the city of Philadelphia residents have income below the poverty rate.

The research reveals a high school diploma is necessary to escape poverty, and Philadelphia falls well short of the rest of the country in graduating its youth. Besides, there is a higher concentration of the disabled and other recipients that receive SSDI than in other cities.

We have more single mothers who are heads of the household, 44 percent, which is twice the national rate. The housing costs are high because of mounting shortages of apartments, even though there are subsidized apartments in the city. As well as more senior citizens who receive a lower fixed income that is below the federal 24% poverty level. 

And we spend more on county, state, and federal mass incarceration than we do to educate our children. Plus, we have an abundance of uneducated and under-educated ex-felons that occupy menial jobs, just- over- broke. ‘Our most vulnerable citizen has turned into political cannon fodder.’ Every sentence carries a lifetime for people that were separated from society under the auspices of the Federal Bureau of Prisons… and are without the training to compete in our digital and hi-tech society.  
Plus, University and College students live on a stringent budget and leave the area after graduation.

Reducing the 24% POVERTY RATE IN Philadelphia, PA

Since COVID-19 the poverty level has increased, reported Mayor Kenney in October 2020.

The SAGE Intergenerational Mentoring Program will ease a lot of the existing dilemmas and also, increase the high school graduation rate. 69% of our students graduate, however, only 16.6% acquire a degree or certificate from a trade or vocational school. Besides, 12% of our youth drop out of school, and this at-risk population is a candidate for the pipeline to incarceration. Philadelphia’s poverty rate for 65+ in 2016 was 17.4%; 6% live in deep poverty. In 2018, 12,043 elderly individuals had difficulty meeting their basic needs.  

The federal poverty level is $18,850 per year, therefore, I looked at significant things:

• educate and train the family for stability
• hire senior citizens as mentors – their population in Philadelphia is 13.4% of the 1.600 Mil
• teach people to become an advocate
• form a partnership with universities, and use our students

— References: generocity.org. Farrah Parkes, executive director of New Century Trust, and vice president of advocacy for Pathways PA 2019-2020, the Philasd.org 2018-2019, and the US Census 2019 —    

The Proposed Innovative solutions 

Use the Longevous (seniors) as Mentors

Establish 24-Hour Multilingual intergenerational Non-traditional Accredited Childcare facilities for single underpaid parents in the workforce. Use seniors as surrogate Grandparents.

Start an On – job -training (OJT) work area to include ex-felons by utilizing the funding streams-Federal, state, local agencies, and organizations. Call the program Entrepreneurship Education.

Form a contractual agreement with Philadelphia’s current main industries and local
enterprises in the community I.e., higher education, manufacturing, oil refinery,
manufacturing, food processing, healthcare, biotech, financial services, tourism, other
industries, telecommunication, and the re-entry programs — can produce positive results.

Form a contractual agreement with Philadelphia’s current main industries and local enterprises in the community I.e., higher education, manufacturing, oil refinery, manufacturing, food processing, healthcare, biotech, financial services, tourism, other industries, telecommunication, and the re-entry programs — can produce positive results.

Resolve the gender wage disparities. Women earn 49-79 cents for 1.00 earned by men, and the gap is much wider for women of color, yet African American women display enormous intellectual ambitions. Our community does not afford women the same standards as men. Gender bias is a prevailing difficulty in Philadelphia, PA.

Suggestion:
Let’s disseminate information via PBS, local channels, the private sector, and social media.

Encourage Combining the City Council’s introduction of its ‘Poverty Action Plan’ to lift 100,000 out of
poverty by 2024 with the expressed suggestions presented by this writer.
A Chinese proverb says: “When I hear, I forget. When I see, I remember.”

This comprehensive strategic plan- will address the 24% poverty rate more effectively and eliminate the existing challenges. The reduction benefits will be moral and financial and reap solid solutions. An important part of this innovative solution is to scatter factual information to the people in the communities of Philadelphia, PA. The author talked with many people in different settings, Doctors, Lawyers, Advocates, civil rights organizations, entrepreneurs, blue-collar workers, civil service employees, military veterans, and parents and students, and they want to be involved; let us learn to groom and use those talents, abilities, and skills. Let the people rally around and tell them the truth. Poverty is not an intractable problem, although it is complex. Therefore, the solutions have to be
specific, and they have to be realistic in the preventive outcomes. The goal, besides reducing the poverty rate, is to give people direction, and the tools and help cultivate
and encourage self-motivation to make changes by disseminating factual information and promoting pages of workable laws to provide safety, humane treatment, and state opportunities for a just life which includes social justice by promoting and understanding discrimination, oppression, and prejudices in our society and working to overcome them.

‘Opposition’

When people face opposition; they accomplish the unthinkable; they stand as proof that we can make it too. We can make Philadelphia Smarter. Let us not be a mirror of society, however, a ‘maker’ of society.