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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be nearly 80% fewer polling places in Philadelphia during the 2020 primary election on June 2. In recent months, state and local officials encouraged voters…
Someone in a black sedan shot projectile fireworks at people who were sleeping and standing on Kensington Avenue near the St. Francis Inn on Wednesday and Thursday night, according to security footage…
Two broken hand-washing stations at Kensington Avenue and Somerset Street were removed on Thursday in response to neighborhood complaints that they were a hazard to the community. The hand-washing stations, which were…
Ceiba, a coalition of Latinx community organizations located on the southwest corner of Norris Square, created a step-by-step video in English and Spanish that demonstrates how to complete a mail-in ballot for…
The 35 guests and staff from the city’s largest men’s shelter who tested positive for coronavirus earlier this month returned to the facility on Friday after a two-week quarantine, which the majority…
Kensington Voice wants to know how people can help community organizations get through this time. What does your organization need? Message us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, or email us at editors@kensingtonvoice.com…
NEWS FEATURES
As a Puerto Rican native, Margarita Rodriguez was familiar with the United States Census since it includes Puerto Rico. But until recently, she wasn’t sure how safe it was. “I didn’t know…
The last time Robert Clark filled out the United States Census form, he had a well-paying job, a house, and no criminal record. But in 2010, Clark lost his job, suffered an…
Philadelphia Superintendent William Hite Jr. knows the impact that a United States Census can have on children in a school district. In 2010, the U.S. Census undercounted 4.6% of the youth population…
When John Tomys was a teenager, he didn’t realize his decision to hot-wire a Mercedes would land him on the front lines of the Vietnam War. But it turned out the car…
As a child, Harry Wilson had a love for writing. But after he enlisted in the military in 1972, he began to write less and less over time. “Writing is so important,…
We interviewed more than 30 Safehouse stakeholders about their personal experiences with addiction, how they feel about the proposed overdose prevention site, and their ideal outcome for the overdose crisis in Philadelphia. Our…
VOICES
The United States Census is critically significant to any noncommercial organization that provides social services — in the Free Library’s case, information-related services — to citizens. The Census, which is a population…
When you think of human service organizations like Esperanza Health Center, numbers and data are probably not the first words that come to mind. Instead, you likely imagine the services we provide,…
The 2020 Census matters, and you count. North Philadelphia is well known as the Census “red zone” for the lack of community participation in past Censuses. But this year, nonprofit organizations like…
For us, it comes down to two things: Money and political power. The Census is used to direct more than $1.5 trillion in federal funding each year from more than 300 government…
The 2020 Census matters to our community, families, and staff — the entire Congreso de Latinos Unidos familia. It informs how critical resources are allocated, which has an immense impact on our…
On Jan. 22, John Zerbe, an artist who lives in Kensington, talked to Kensington Voice’s Zari Tarazona about the mural he’s producing with artist Kien Nguyen at Impact Services’ 124 veterans housing…
Kensington Voice Editors Erin Blewett, Henry Savage, and Zari Tarazona talked with veterans living in Impact Services’ Hancock Manor, a veterans housing facility also known as 174, about what kinds of improvements…
On my very first day as an English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and Spanish teacher in Kensington, I was nervous because I didn’t know what to expect. I don’t think some…
It’s difficult living in an English-speaking community when you do not speak English — especially as a parent. As the mother of 14- and nine-year-old daughters, I have struggled when I’ve gone…
SOLUTIONS
Since 1790, the goal of the United States Census has remained the same: to count all the people living in the country every 10 years. This year, the U.S. Census Bureau will…
The boundaries for Census Tract 178 run along Kensington’s main corridors, including Kensington, Allegheny, and Frankford Avenues. That Census tract, where in 2018 more than 5,500 people lived, includes the Somerset and…
Three days every week, the veterans of Hancock Manor gather for coffee around a table in the house’s main space, which used to be the building’s gymnasium when it was still the…
While reporting on veterans in Kensington over the last few months, we found resources available to veterans across the city. From the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefit entitlement assistance to city…
In September, Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of the opioid painkiller OxyContin, reached a tentative settlement for $10 to 12 billion with the 22 states and 2,000 cities and counties that sued the…
Kensington Voice spent the last few weeks collecting questions and concerns from community members regarding Safehouse, a privately funded nonprofit that hopes to open a facility for people to use drugs under…
STORY CORNER
This summer, Kensington Voice collaborated with the Kensington Library to engage tweens and teens for a #TeenTruths photo workshop series. In four weekly workshops, we worked on learning DSLR camera settings, photo…
On July 11, 18, and 25, Kensington Voice is hosting #TeenTruths, a free photojournalism workshop series for aspiring teen writers, photographers, creators, and more, at Kensington Library. Pizza and drinks will be…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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