Last summer, Kensington Health Sciences Academy special education teacher Edward Colfer had an idea for a senior community service project: a program that would allow students with learning disabilities or behavioral needs…
NEWS FEATURES
Tiger Poets: “It’s about … being able to see what you have went through, and what you overcame”
“Strong, rowdy, teamwork, and loyal,” are the words that come to assistant coach Fantaja Jones’ mind to describe the members of Tiger Poets — the Kensington-based poetry team. Established in 2017, the…
Transitional housing program teaches life skills to youth in Kensington
Editor’s note: Names marked with an asterisk (*) are those of people who requested we use their first name only due to the sensitivity of the subject matter. In early March, 20-year-old…
Kensington cheerleaders: “We have a record to uphold, and we’re not going to fail for anybody”
On an early-June afternoon, chants of “T-I-G-E-R-S” echoed off the walls of a dance studio at the Kensington Creative & Performing Arts High School (KCAPA). The award-winning Kensington High School cheerleading team…
Kensington Soccer Club: “My kids are here to stay”
Before moving to Bristol, PA, Blanca Ayala’s children were members of the Kensington Soccer Club for four years. But after they moved last year, she would travel with them by train and…
“This kind of work will drain you”: How trauma is affecting people responding to overdoses in Kensington
On a cold March morning earlier this year, Roz Pichardo was driving into work on Kensington Avenue when she heard someone scream from outside her car window — “I need Narcan!” With…
Another Kensington garden is losing land to development
When members of the Philly Socialists formed the César Andreu Iglesias Community Garden at Arlington and North Lawrence Streets in 2012, they did it to reclaim the vacant land for the community.…
Restoring Victor’s garden
Next to Hope Park on the 3000 block of A Street, a broken fence borders the remains of Victor Ortiz’s neighborhood garden. “The garden used to bring so much light into the…
Love at the libraries
For Judi Moore, Marcela Franco and Bryan Belknap, the relationships they build and things they learn are a big reason they love working at Kensington’s libraries. Moore, the children’s librarian at McPherson…
Wedding on East Monmouth: Kensington couple will marry outside Prevention Point to send message of hope
Wilfredo Laboy and Cristina Pintor pose for photos in the upstairs sanctuary at Prevention Point. The couple met at Prevention Point during an overdose prevention training in 2017. (Photo by Jillian Bauer-Reese)…
Awilda Ocasio: “the Mother Teresa of Kensington”
“Hello, my love!” — were the three words that sang from Awilda Ocasio’s lips when she entered a room. “She loved everyone… Everyone loved her,” said Judi Moore, the children’s librarian and…
Fifty years after their Kensington wedding, a couple’s love remains strong on Kensington Avenue
In April, Bea and David Kelley will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. The couple met as teenagers, growing up just a few blocks from each other — David on the 2800 block…
How hard is it to convert vacant buildings into safe, affordable homes for people in need?
Before Miguel Diaz purchased and renovated an abandoned house on Potter Street in Kensington, he worried he could never afford a comfortable home for himself and his daughter in the neighborhood where…
VOICES
Coming to terms with the absence of my father
It’s been about 15 years since my father has actually been in my life. You wouldn’t know that though if you were friends with him on Facebook because he wants those who…
Nikki was a good kid — he was misled because he had nobody to guide him
What did you think about this story? Send a note to editors@kensingtonvoice.com, and we’ll consider publishing it in our Voices section. Or, if you have a question you’d like us to explore…
A short voice of my life
What did you think about this story? Send a note to editors@kensingtonvoice.com, and we’ll consider publishing it in our Voices section. Or, if you have a question you’d like us to explore…
My students push through negative stereotypes every day to ensure they receive their education
During the 2018-2019 school year, I had the opportunity to be the site director for 12PLUS At Kensington Health Sciences Academy. 12PLUS is a non-profit focusing on linking high school students in…
After reversing more than 100 overdoses, the trauma is starting to take a toll on me
As a citizen who has reversed more than 100 overdoses, every now and then I have a cry that is so uncontrollable, and painful, and deep, that I wonder if I will…
Remain calm, practice empathy, and be prepared: How McPherson security guard Sterling Davis responds to trauma
On April 17, husband, father, and security guard Sterling Davis talked with Claire Wolters, the Kensington Voice Voices editor, about his experience reversing overdoses as a security guard at McPherson Square Branch.…
I want gardening to help me connect and grow with my community
I planted my backyard garden in an old bookshelf from Circle Thrift. I removed the back, took out the shelves, and screwed a post of a two-by-four in each corner, wrapping it…
Let’s beautify Kensington through respectful language
Neyda Rios stands with her children Daisie Cardona (left) and Stanley Santoni (right) outside of Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School on March 23, 2019. (Photo by Solmaira Valerio) On March 13, mother-daughter duo…
Greening projects offer more than just beautification
I have lived in Kensington for the majority of my life and can confirm that my community is rich, dynamic, and filled with resilient people who are dedicated to reversing the negative…
I use my platform as a social activist to love my community
I was in elementary school when I first became aware of environments of racism. It was something I read about in books, and it was something I witnessed firsthand while growing up…
To add more love to Kensington, we can change the landscape
Twenty-six years ago, my now husband and I moved into a big, unheated loft at Front and Norris Streets. The place was about 3,000 square feet and so large that we put…
Kensington is crying out loudly for love
As a child, I always wrote. It was a way to express myself without speaking. Because I stutter, I wrote in a broken format. Poetry’s grammatical-free structure came easily to me. I…
Love: Can you tell me what it is?
For our February edition, students from the Kensington Health Sciences Academy Poetry Team wrote poems about love. Conversationby Tywan Madden I love a good conversationI love getting lost in conversation and losing track of…
I believe the future of Kensington is bright
Teacher Ava Haitz works in her classroom at Taller Puertorriqueño on February 12, 2019. (Photo by Jillian Bauer-Reese) This marks my third semester teaching art at Taller Puertorriqueño and working with kids…
We must remember that everyone suffers painful experiences
Sometime in 2014, I became aware that respect was lacking in a lot of things that we do as a society. In a reflective moment of prayer and meditation, I made an…
Vacant buildings in Kensington are homes for crime, drugs, and fear
In my 19 years of serving as an evangelist and block captain in Kensington, I’ve encountered many abandoned buildings and nuisance properties. When you have access to a vacant building, you have…
Let’s use vacant buildings to help people experiencing homelessness or mental illness in Kensington
About three days a week, I cut hair for people experiencing homelessness in Kensington. Sometimes I set up pop-up barber shops at the intersections of Kensington and Allegheny, Kensington and Lehigh, or…
Abandoned buildings are a plague in and around Kensington
Vacant buildings are indicative of the urban decay plaguing our city, and I propose they be torn down. This process would eliminate the numerous safety hazards they cause, such as fire hazards…
SOLUTIONS
“Burnout is real”: The importance of engaging in self-care practices when faced with trauma
Chera Kowalski remembers working at McPherson Square Library when overdoses became a more common occurrence in Kensington. It was 2015, and Philadelphia saw 696 overdose deaths that year — a 52% increase…
Systematic growth: valuing environmental intangibles
Sunflower Hill Park is carved into a valley about 10 feet below the sidewalk on the 1700 block of North 5th Street near Cecil B. Moore Avenue. You probably wouldn’t notice it…
Where are Kensington’s plant enthusiasts and gardeners?
Where are my fellow gardeners and plant enthusiasts? That’s what Kensington resident Hannah Riotto texted Kensington Voice earlier this year. She wanted to connect with neighbors who share her passion for gardening.…
What places do you love the most in Kensington?
What places do you love the most in Kensington? We’re compiling an ongoing list of places people love in the neighborhood. You can help us make it longer by telling us about…
Should Kensington adopt these ideas to address homelessness?
Row homes line Potter and Custer Streets in Kensington on the afternoon of Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019. (Photos by Maggie Loesch) While Kensington and the City of Philadelphia as a whole face…
Should the city pay returning citizens to rehab abandoned buildings in Kensington?
This year, the City of Philadelphia ended with a surplus of over $769 million. Jondhi Harrell, the director of The Center for Returning Citizens, believes that at least $100 million of the…
This organization has an 85% housing retention rate
Editor’s note: Names marked with an asterisk (*) are those of people who requested we use their first name only due to the sensitivity of the subject matter. For more than a…
STORY CORNER
Turning your opinions into opinion articles
After struggling for the last two months to get a large turnout to our Story Corner workshops, we decided to revamp the Story Corner as a program that provides journalism skills trainings.…
An exploration of our roots
In late February and early March, Kensington Voice staff organized two Story Corner workshops around the theme of “roots” to explore participants’ communities of origin. (Design by Kim Holdredge) On February 23…
Valentines for Kensington
Few things convey love and care like a hand-made gift. This month, participants at our story corner workshops showed love by crafting valentines for people, places, and things in their community. Just…
We didn’t go nowhere — our numbers just dwindled
The Story Corner is a collaboration between Kensington Voice and McPherson Square Library, located at the intersection of Kensington and Indiana Avenues. I wanted to be part of the story corner camera…
I see chickens running around my neighborhood
The Story Corner is a collaboration between Kensington Voice and McPherson Square Library, located at the intersection of Kensington and Indiana Avenues. I wanted to be part of the first story corner…
I adore how the city looks in the snow — a very clean slate
The Story Corner is a collaboration between Kensington Voice and McPherson Square Library, located at the intersection of Kensington and Indiana Avenues. I am an adult/teen librarian at McPherson Square Library and…
Truth is abundant in Kensington
The Story Corner is a collaboration between Kensington Voice and McPherson Square Library, located at the intersection of Kensington and Indiana Avenues. I got involved in the first story corner workshop because…
This area needs a lot of focus
The Story Corner is a collaboration between Kensington Voice and McPherson Square Library, located at the intersection of Kensington and Indiana Avenues. I got involved with the first story corner project because…
Tell me something good: The Kensington Storefront
The Story Corner is a collaboration between Kensington Voice and McPherson Square Library, located at the intersection of Kensington and Indiana Avenues. Love in this place. Weaving at Prevention Point. The Kensington…
Kensington Through Our Eyes: Photos from the gallery
The Story Corner is a collaboration between Kensington Voice and McPherson Square Library, located at the intersection of Kensington and Indiana Avenues. The Through Our Eyes camera project was the pilot of…
PAST ISSUES
Staying Afloat – April 2019
EDITOR'S NOTE Last month, we were contacted by Kensington resident Roz Pichardo, who has reversed more than 100 overdoses. After experiencing a series of traumatic overdose reversals, Pichardo asked us to focus…
Room for Growth – March 2019
EDITOR'S NOTE For our March issue, we decided to answer a question from one of our readers. Earlier this year, Kensington resident Hannah Riotto texted us, "Where are my fellow gardeners and plant…
El is for love – February 2019
EDITOR'S NOTE For our February issue, we aimed to keep it simple. We asked what you wanted from a local news outlet. You told us positivity. Since Valentine’s Day falls in February,…
Filling empty homes – January 2019
Issue #1: January 2019 Filling empty homes #thb-row-overlay-5d2ecb2c3cdd3 {background:rgba(0,0,0,0.88);background:linear-gradient( 0deg,rgba(0,0,0,0.88),rgba(0,0,0,0.88) ); } EDITOR'S NOTE How hard is it to take an abandoned building and turn it into a safe living space for…
CURIOUS KENSINGTON
We know you’re curious, Kensington. Ask us questions to help us decide what stories we should explore next.
Help us tell stories you want to be told by asking us questions about the neighborhood. No question is too simple or silly. We’re collecting questions now, and next, we’ll put them up for a vote. Ask away.