The city’s new Kensington “wellness court” initiative launched Wednesday, resulting in three arrests. Two of those arrested were diverted to addiction treatment programs, while the third was sent to jail due to an outstanding warrant in Montgomery County.
The fast-track court, created through an executive order by Mayor Cherelle Parker and overseen by the Office of Public Safety, targets people who use drugs by arresting them for summary offenses such as disorderly conduct, failure to disperse, obstructing highways and other public passages, and public intoxication.
Arrestees are taken by police to the Police-Assisted Diversion (PAD) office at B Street and Lehigh Avenue, where they are evaluated by a nurse. Those eligible are then offered a choice between treatment and legal consequences, with cases heard by a judge on the same day.
By 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, police had brought three people to the PAD office on charges of public drunkenness “and similar misconduct,” and obstructing the highway, according to court records. All three had outstanding warrants, complicating their intake into the program, said Andrew Pappas, director of pre-trials for the Defender Association of Philadelphia.
Pappas, who was stationed at PAD to represent people in virtual bench warrant court, said public defenders could not represent any of the people arrested in virtual bench warrant court because two had warrants in other counties and the third had a Philadelphia probation warrant, which cannot be resolved in bench warrant court.
City staff worked to lift warrants for two of the people, allowing them to proceed with the wellness court process, according to Pappas. The third, who had a robbery warrant in Montgomery County, was transferred to a Philadelphia correctional facility and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 20.
“It required a remarkable amount of Philadelphia police resources to do this,” Pappas said, noting that two officers must accompany each person at PAD, taking them off patrol duties.
The eligible participants were offered a choice between treatment and legal consequences by Christian Colón, a city attorney. Both agreed to treatment, and were transported to the 24th Police District headquarters on Whitaker Avenue for a 2 p.m. hearing.
City officials, including Chief Public Safety Director Adam Geer and Deputy Police Commissioner Francis Healy, and attorneys with the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Abolitionist Law Center were in attendance. Colón represented them in court.
Municipal Court Judge Henry Lewandowski told the first participant that completing the treatment program would result in the dismissed charges and eligibility for expungement. The participant could also reject treatment, Lewandowski said, which would require police to present evidence of the charges. If convicted, the maximum penalty would be $300 fine, with failure to pay resulting in a civil judgement, he added.
When asked where they were at the time of arrest, the person said they were “in the street” and responded “maybe” when asked if they were experiencing homelessness. Lewandowski ordered a status update in one week, instructing the participant to either engage in treatment or return to court.
“Do your best to succeed,” Lewandowski told him, adding that if he does not follow through with treatment, “you’ll see a different version of me.”
After court, the first participant was assigned for transport by Merakey to the Behavioral Wellness Center at 8th and Girard Avenue for intensive inpatient treatment.
The second participant agreed to a 30-day residential program at Kirkbride. When asked by Lewandowski if they were okay, they told the court they were “dope sick.”
Solomon Furious Worlds, an attorney with the ACLU who was at the PAD office Wednesday morning, said the program is an improvement over jail but criticized the involvement of law enforcement and would be better led by social services.
“Folks don’t need a carceral hook into services,” Worlds said. “Forced treatment is not the way to go. And at the end of the day this is still forced treatment.”
Around 8:30 Wednesday morning on Kensington Avenue near Somerset Street, Juan Velez said he wanted someone to take him to the PAD office so he could get into treatment.
But when Merakey staff offered to transport him, he said he needed to get his mail from two different mail boxes first so he could maintain communication with his parole officer.
“Who could put up with all this, being homeless?” he said.
After 150 days of recovery, Velez said he broke his arm and started using drugs again after his insurance would not cover a hard cast. He then entered a medical detox program at Gaudenzia, but struggled to find housing after completing the program.
“If I can just get housing, then I’d be off the streets,” he said. “I’m not homeless because I want to be homeless. I’m homeless because there are no resources for me.”
Have any questions, comments, or concerns about this story? Send an email to editors@kensingtonvoice.com.
