Philadelphia is a step closer to establishing city- supported intake centers for people in addiction after , Mayor Cherelle L. Parker , on Thursday proposed spending$ 100 million on fresh” triage and wellness facilities”, part of her pledge , to stop open- air drug markets.
While the governor said the centers are a concern for her management, she indicated during her first , funds target to City Council , on Thursday that the plan is a work in progress. There are very few details about the treatment options being proposed, and it is unclear what function law enforcement did sing there, including whether or not they would voluntarily take people there.
Parker said management officials, led by Managing Director Adam Thiel, are “examining every opportunity for providing lengthy- term care, treatment, and housing for those suffering from addiction, homelessness, and psychological- health challenges”.
She continued, adding that Thiel held meetings with Philadelphia’s top insurance and health care leaders earlier this month to create recovery and treatment plans.
A city with a record number of overdose deaths in recent years would change its approach by opening the first facility. As some civic organizations have long battled against the establishment of drug treatment facilities in their neighborhoods, it might also become a hot button for residents.
Locations have n’t been selected, but Parker said in an interview Thursday that she is “hopeful” about one space the administration is exploring. She said she could n’t tell where it is.
” We have to find facilities that can get up and running quickly”, she said.
The idea was thrown out by City Council members a month later when the funds were designated for triage facilities. A group of four lawmakers who represent , Kensington , — the epicenter of the city’s opioid crisis — said they would seek funding for a city- run” triage center” as a means of getting people in addiction off the streets and into treatment.
They suggested that police and outreach personnel could either bring drug users who are unharmed or engage in obscene behavior to treatment facilities or have them detained. People facing criminal charges for low-level crimes like drug possession and prostitution are already able to get rehabilitation options through the city’s programs.
” There will be court- driven treatment or court- driven programs that they will have to attend, or there will be arrest and consequences that may be possible” , , Councilmember Mark Squilla , said at the time.
Parker has said repeatedly that she’s supportive of the lawmakers who represent Kensington, and Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, who has been outspoken about the neighborhood’s challenges, praised Parker’s budget as” a product of community input”.
The mayor, however, said the city needs “multiple” locations and did not expressly support the specifics of the Council members ‘ proposal for a triage center.
Additionally, how the proposed facilities would compare to the current drug-addiction treatment facilities is unclear. The city has  , at least five , crisis resource centers that connect people to such services as detox programs and medication- assisted treatment. Similar services are provided by a number of Kensington nonprofits.
There are also significant barriers that keep people out of treatment in Philadelphia, complicated by the potency of the city’s drug supply,  , according to a recent study  , of Philadelphia’s treatment system by Thomas Jefferson University researchers.
Fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid behind most of the city’s overdose deaths, wears off quickly, sending people into painful withdrawal faster. Xylazine, the animal tranquilizer often paired with fentanyl,  , causes serious wounds and intense withdrawal symptoms , that doctors are only just learning how to treat.
People who have an addiction frequently endure lengthy wait times before receiving treatment, which makes it difficult for some to go back on the streets to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Many treatment facilities lack the facilities to treat wounds brought on by xylazine, so some people who have been cleared for treatment are still unable to enter.
An anthropologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, Philippe Bourgois, has researched Kensington’s drug market and the impact of triage facilities on some users. However, he claimed that large-scale zero-tolerance policies are rarely successful.
Given a treatment- or- jail ultimatum, Bourgois said, many people relapse. A 2018 study found that recently incarcerated people in Philadelphia , faced an outsized risk , of overdose in the first two weeks after their release.
” I have seen people who attribute their recovery to a zero- tolerance approach”, he said. ” But the general pattern is that the reverse happens: you’re pissed off and angry and when you get out, you’re not open to stopping”.
He said the gold standard for addiction treatment, as found in many European countries, is to “maximize the number of recovery pathways and reduce the punitive alternatives”.
According to her budget plan, Jefferson, the University of Pennsylvania, and Temple Health are among the experts that her administration is seeking input from. She added that her staff is collaborating closely with state lawmakers to look into ways to make recovery treatment patients more accessible to insurance.
Still, the$ 100 million worth of spending — which would come out of the city’s capital budget, meaning it would be paid for through borrowing — is not certain.
Parker and her allies may encounter resistance in City Council, particularly from progressive wing members who have pushed for public health-focused solutions to the overdose crisis. They are unlikely to back an initiative if they believe it is making addiction illegal.
Before the current budget expires, Council and the administration are currently negotiating, and they must approve a spending and revenue plan by June 30.
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