Roughly 150 people gathered to hear Coalition members voice their concerns. Behind the speakers, other Coalition members stood wearing blindfolds to represent the blinders presidential candidate have on with respect to homelessness.

”We are here today to call on the presidential candidates to honestly confront the crisis of homelessness and to offer constructive policies to resolve this crisis,” said Sister Mary Scullion of Project HOME.

“We want to hear from our presidential candidates how they’re going to end homelessness today,” continued Sister Scullion. “We want to feel a sense of urgency from our elected officials that they feel the plight of people that are living on our streets. “

Sister Scullion also spoke about the power homeless voters can have in this election:

Thousands of homeless people in Philadelphia are registered to vote. And we’re waiting for some positive, meaningful messages from our presidential candidates. And so far, we have heard nothing. We cannot allow people who are experiencing homelessness to continue to be invisible in this campaign.

Some speakers voiced concern with the Democratic debate held in Philadelphia last week. Reverend Bill Golderer of the Broad Street Ministry said, “We have a problem that’s bigger than the so-called Jeremiah Wright problem. We have a bigger problem confronting us tomorrow than the so-called sniper fire problem. We have a bigger problem than going back and forth about whether Pennsylvanians are bitter or not bitter.”

Others spoke about how federal programs have helped them when they were homeless, and how those programs are still important today.

Hyacinth King, a formerly homeless woman now with Vote for Homes, said, “Thanks to having the right support, I have been stable mentally and have been substance free for a little more than eleven years. My support system, which I still need from time to time, would not be possible without Section 8 vouchers which are made available by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.”

“I present myself to you today,” continued Ms. King, “to show what can happen when federal resources are well invested.”

The Vote for Homes Coalition is a non-partisan advocacy group for the homeless that registers people to vote. It’s part of Project HOME, a major housing and service provider for the homeless in Philadelphia. Call the Vote For Homes Information Line at 215-232-7272 ex.3106 if you need help getting to the polls in Philadelphia.

Bethesda Project, Horizon House, the Mental Health Association of Southeast Pennsylvania, and the Homeless Advocacy Project were also involved in the rally.

Hear Hyacinth King’s full speech (click triangle to hear clip):
Hyacinth King

“The market was so successful last year, we decided to open two months earlier this year,” said market manager Katy Wich. “We were thrilled to see how many customers enjoyed the market last year, and are excited to offer shoppers the opportunity to visit the market again.”

This will be the Headhouse Farmers’ Market’s second year in operation.

This year, you’ll find previous market favorites, such as Griggstown Quail Farm’s chicken pot pies from Princeton NJ, Patches of Star Dairy’s feta cheese from Nazareth, PA, and North Star Orchards famous Asian Pears from Coatesville, PA.

The Market will also feature new products, like African greens from Yoder Heirlooms in Lititz, PA, artisan game sausage and salami from Talula’s Table in Kennett Square, PA, and fresh milk from Birchrun Hills Farm in Birchrunville, PA.

As part of the opening day festivities, Hoots and Hellmouth, a Philadelphia-based band, will be performing at the market.

The Food Trust, a non-profit organization working to ensure that everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food, operates 29 markets–including affiliated markets in surrounding suburban communities that will be opening throughout May and June.

Two of the Food Trust’s markets have been open all winter:

• Clark Park Farmers’ Market, 43rd St. & Baltimore Ave. is open Saturdays 10am-2pm
• Fitler Square Farmers’ Market, 23rd St. & Pine St. is open Saturdays 10am-2pm

Find out more at www.headhousemarket.org or www.thefoodtrust.org.

The simulation will let City residents try to balance their priorities for Philadelphia with real fiscal constraints and opportunities by using actual numbers from the City Budget Office. This will allow citizens to wrestle with the same trade-offs Mayor Nutter and his administration face while devising the City’s budget and will also generate more informed input into the budget process.

The Economy League will use its budget expertise on the content side of the project, and Great Expectations will contribute its extensive community forum experience in taking the simulation to groups across the city. The simulation will be online at EconomyLeague.org this August with hope that as many Philadelphians as possible will participate before City Council hearings on the Fiscal Year 2010 budget in spring 2009.

Steve Wray, Executive Director of the Economy League, explained the reasoning behind the project:

“The budget is any city’s most important policy document. Where and how the city spends its money reveals its priorities, liabilities, and obligations. In Philadelphia, however, budget documents and the budgeting process have remained the province of insiders and only the most dogged of citizens. The last mayoral election excited among Philadelphians both the desire to know how city government spends their tax dollars and the expectation of accountability for those expenditures. This game will give residents a fun way to get their opinions across.”

Both the Economy League and Great Expectations were concerned with budget literacy prior to last year’s election. The Economy League’s Issues Philadelphia website has been focused on budget information, analysis, and best practices. A more transparent budget process and increased public participation emerged as a key goal for the city from the Great Expectations Citizen Agenda process.

Chris Satullo, Director of Civic Engagement for Great Expectations and Philadelphia Inquirer columnist, explains the simulation’s goals: “We’re hoping to do at least two things: 1) to use the appeal of an interactive game to coax citizens to think more deeply about the trade-offs involved in governing our city, and 2) to use the online game as the centerpiece of community forums where citizens would think through these choices together through dialogue, as well as individually while sitting at a keyboard.”

Harris Sokoloff, Faculty Director of Great Expectations and Director of the Penn Project for Civic Engagement, noted that, “this project will give citizens opportunities for structured engagement in the budget process–-where citizens have a chance to learn about the budget, discuss different budget priorities, and then work through their ideas together to reach some common ground. This can dramatically improve both citizen understanding of the budget as well as support for a budget that addresses the priorities and concerns that emerge in the process.”

About the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia
The Economy League of Greater Philadelphia is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to research and analysis of the region’s resources and challenges with the goal of promoting sound public policy and increasing the region’s prosperity. ELGP is an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Economy League, Inc., with offices in Harrisburg, Wilkes Barre, and Pittsburgh. For more information, visit EconomyLeague.org.

About Great Expectations
Great Expectations is a joint project of The Inquirer’s Citizen Voices program and the Penn Project for Civic Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania. Learn more at GreatExpectations07.com.

About the Lenfest Foundation
Based in West Conshohocken, the Lenfest Foundation is dedicated to supporting programs primarily in the areas of education, arts, and the environment. The Lenfest Foundation’s efforts are focused mainly in southeastern and south central Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and northern Delaware. Visit LenfestFoundation.org for more information.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008
5:30 to 7:30 pm
Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel
1701 Locust Street

A savvy sector of the region’s brain trust will review the past year’s accomplishments, offer a sneak peek of coming developments, and discuss their vision for the city’s future. Panelists: Andrew Altman, Peggy Amsterdam, Camille Cates Barnett, Ph.D., Tom Muldoon, Steven Wray, Executive Director, Economy League

Space is limited and pre-payment is required. For details and to reserve a place, contact CCPA: 215 545 7766.

Source: State of the City Event April 30

The causes and nature of inequality in American education have been the subject of sustained historical scrutiny. Using histories of American educational inequality as a backdrop, this panel asks: What aspects of American educational inequality have endured and what is new? Scholars will explore how developments in the past three decades—globalization, post-1960s immigration, the new spatial organizations of American urban areas, shifting regional fortunes, the decline of labor as a political force, the growing service economy—have altered the landscape of American educational inequality. Panelists will address the components of educational inequality in America that continue to demand analysis and will point to the questions that recent trends suggest need further scholarly exploration.

April 12, 2008, 4:30pm
Logan Hall, G-17
University of Pennsylvania

Free and open to the public

Speakers:
James D. Anderson, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Michael B. Katz, University of Pennsylvania
Ira Katznelson, Columbia University
David Labaree, Stanford University
James Leloudis, University of North Carolina
Elaine Simon, University of Pennsylvania (moderator)

Let us know what you think via our contact page.