The city’s new Kensington “wellness court” has led to nine arrests since its launch last week, but questions about its effectiveness remain as two participants left treatment and outreach workers are now searching for them.
City officials have described the fast-track court program as a way to connect some of Kensington’s estimated 800 unhoused people with social services, such as addiction treatment, by arresting people for summary offenses, including disorderly conduct, failure to disperse, obstructing highways and other public passages, and public intoxication.
Three people were arrested the first week. Two were diverted to addiction treatment, while one, deemed ineligible due to an outstanding warrant, was sent to jail. One participant never checked into a medically monitored inpatient treatment program at B-Well, while another, placed in a 30-day intensive inpatient program at Kirkbride, left after the first day.
“Maybe I didn't do a good job explaining my expectations,” Municipal Court Judge Henry Lewandowski said in court Wednesday.
Lewandowski issued wellness court bench warrants – a new type of warrant he created during open court Wednesday – requiring both to appear in court again. Details about how these warrants will be enforced remain unclear.
Six more people were arrested Wednesday, according to Andrew Pappas, director of pre-trials for the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Two appeared in court Wednesday afternoon.
One was arrested for obstructing a public passage, according to Christian Colón, a city-contracted attorney representing wellness court participants. He told the judge he had been living outside and accepted placement in a medically monitored, intensive inpatient treatment program.
Another was arrested for trespassing in an abandoned private property. He told the judge he had been unhoused since May after getting kicked out of his mother’s house. After an assessment, the city determined he did not require addiction treatment.
Colón said police have been instructed to look for signs of drug use when making arrests, but in this case, the issue was “abject homelessness.”
The city recommended the participant complete a housing assessment through the Office of Homeless Services (OHS). Lewandowski said he should stay in contact with a housing assessor and that he would be placed in permanent housing “when available.”
However, when Lewandowski asked if the city had given the participant contact information for a housing assessor, a city representative said they had not.
As the city representative searched for a number, they suggested he attend a resource fair at Rock Ministries in February instead. Eventually, Kurt August, the Director of the Office of Criminal Justice, gave the participant a number for an OHS employee.
Of the other four others arrested Wednesday:
- Two were transported to the hospital because they were experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms, according to the city. The judge issued them both wellness court dates for next week.
- One person was assessed at the city’s Police Assisted Diversion office and not recommended for treatment or services, according to Pappas. They were charged with a summary offense for trespassing on private property and accepted a summary court date, Colón said.
- One had an Accelerated Misdemeanor Program (AMP) court bench warrant, a court for misdemeanor charges, and had it lifted at AMP court on Wednesday morning, according to Pappas. They were given a court date for both AMP court and wellness court, Pappas said.
Colón said the city wants to use wellness court for a range of quality-of-life crimes as a form of prevention, acknowledging that people experiencing homelessness often transition into drug use.
Kelsey León, a harm-reduction advocate with the Community Action Relief Project (CARP), was in court Wednesday to watch the court proceedings.
León criticized the program for not following evidence-based practices – a concern that addiction experts have repeatedly communicated to city officials in recent city hearings, protests, and a formal letter to Mayor Cherelle Parker and Chief Public Safety Director Adam Geer. She said people often access care “through community and connections.”
“When people are coerced into treatment, they don’t stay, and ultimately are more wary about seeking care,” León said. “We have been saying all of this since the wellness court was first proposed.”
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