For Immediate Release: January 21, 2025
Contact: Amaury Ávalos, amaury.avalos@phila.gov
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker Signs Executive Order and announces new Kensington Neighborhood Wellness Court
The Neighborhood Wellness Court will operate in tandem with the Office of Public Safety’s Kensington Wellness Support Center
Philadelphia – Today, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker signed Executive Order No. 1-25 “Implementation of a Pilot Wellness Court Program in Kensington,” which allows the following to take place: 1) Establishes a Wellness Court where a person who would otherwise be arrested for misdemeanor charges associated with public drug use is offered the opportunity for same -day physical and behavioral health assessment, basic medical care and withdrawal management, a judicial hearing, and diversion and intake for treatment. 2) Allows for a limited exception to Executive Order No. 8-16 – in the limited geographic area where Wellness Court will pilot and where state law allows for the arrest of certain behavior by someone who is engaging in public drug use can now be arrested for certain summary offenses.
The Office of Public Safety Kensington Neighborhood Wellness Court (NWC) is an innovation in the community courts model and serves people arrested for public drug use. A post-arrest, rapid diversion program, individuals arrested for eligible offenses are transported immediately to the OPS Kensington Wellness Support Center, located at 265 E Lehigh Avenue, where they are pre-screened for ability to attend court that day and where related medical and behavioral supports are readily available. If eligible, an individual is then brought to the Neighborhood Wellness Court located at 3910 Whitaker Avenue, Philadelphia, PA . The pilot operates once a week and is a partnership between The Office of Public Safety (OPS), the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD), the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS), Community Behavioral Health (CBH), the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, the Defenders Association, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Merakey, and Penn Addiction Medicine.
“Since day one, my administration has been committed to addressing the challenge facing Kensington and our City at large when it comes to homelessness and substance abuse disorder,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. “The signing of today’s Executive Order, along with the opening of the Kensington Neighborhood Wellness Court is a victory for our city and the addition of another critical resource in our City’s public safety and public health toolkit. The Neighborhood Wellness Court is not just an accountability measure, it is a humane and effective way to serve Kensington’s residents and its most vulnerable community members.”
The Kensington Neighborhood Wellness Court is a post-arrest, rapid-diversion program designed to align with established court functions for same-day arrests while ensuring timely medical and behavioral health treatment for drug users in Kensington. Designed by the Office of Public Safety, the NWC aims to creatively fill gaps in the current diversion continuum for people arrested for drug use in Philadelphia by having them see a medical professional who specializes in substance use disorder (SUD) first and increasing access to treatment options for individuals with substance use disorder.
“I am incredibly proud of the work my Office and our partners have done to stand up the Kensington Wellness Support Center and the Neighborhood Wellness Court,” said Adam Geer, Chief Public Safety Director, of Philadelphia. “Under Mayor Parker’s leadership, we continue to build a City that breaks down silos to deliver a government that our residents can see touch and feel. I look forward to the work we will accomplish here and the partnerships we will expand upon here in Kensington.”
The Kensington Neighborhood Wellness Court establishes an alternative process for individuals arrested for a misdemeanor offense. In many instances prior to the establishment of the NWC, arrest for a misdemeanor:
- carries at a minimum a maximum penalty of up to oneyear incarceration or probation and a $2,500.00 fine.
- Required an individual to be held in a cell until charges are either declined or approved by the DAO.
- If charged, to appear before a magistrate at arraignment and have bail set.
- Be given a date for a later time for an adjudication on the charges that are pending.
- In many instances these individuals will either return to the street and fail to appear at their first listing of the court case without ever seeing a medical professional or receiving a connection to substance abuse disorder professionals.
Under the process established under theNWC:
- Individuals arrested consistent with this Executive Order shall be transported promptly to the OPS Kensington Wellness and Support Center where they will be first taken to a nurse who determines if an individual needs to go to a hospital, or if withdrawal management can be provided at the Wellness Support Center.
- Afterwards, individuals are provided food and comfort medication.
- An on-site behavioral health professional will assess the individual and offer intake for treatment, if eligible.
- Individuals are allowed access to a city paid criminal defense attorney who has experience in providing legal services to individuals who have been arrested for offenses related to substance abuse and are suffering from SUD.
- While awaiting Court, eligible participants are held in a secured portion of the KWSC, comfortable and without handcuffs.
- If eligible, individuals are assessed for the opportunity to have prior bench warrants lifted through an innovative remote bench warrant lift program.
- Most importantly, participants are offered same day adjudication for their summary offense. A judge will assess the participants ability to enter into an agreement for diversion.
- Based on the assessments and observations of the trained medical and behavioral health professionals at the KWSC, individuals are placed into an appropriate diversion program.
The design of the Kensington Neighborhood Wellness Court has several advantages:
- The NWC prioritizes health and well-being by addressing the health needs of prospective participants before arrest processing or any judicial process.
- By offering diversion immediately post-arrest, prospective participants can avoid jail and even detention in a holding cell, unlike other post-charge diversion programs.
- Participants benefit from ongoing communication, support, and involvement made possible by judicial supervision.
- The NWC minimizes the use of vital City resources by streamlining the diversion process.
The design of the Neighborhood Wellness Court was informed by the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM), which details how individuals with substance use disorders come into contact with, or are “intercepted,” and move through the legal system. Using this model, OPS identified resource and service gaps in already existing intercepts and designed the Neighborhood Wellness Court to address these gaps.
Individuals may come into contact with the Neighborhood Wellness Court at various intercepts from pre-arrest (community services) to immediate post-arrest. An individual can be referred to the NWC without arrest, but individuals who are arrested must be arrested for a summary offense, the lowest level of criminal offense in Pennsylvania. At the NWC, individuals receive an assessment from a nurse and are placed in hospital care, if necessary. If diversion is offered, the NWC judge will set expectations and goals for the individual, based upon DBHIDS clinical recommendations.
The Kensington Wellness Support Center is in the final design and installation phase with Mural Arts that will include a mural to surround the facility and art inspired by the Color Me Back program. Additionally, the Office of Public Safety, City partners, and community organizations are exploring future opportunities for collaboration within the Center and throughout the neighborhood.
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Support provided by major stakeholders and partners in the Neighborhood Wellness Court:
- Casey O’Donnell, CEO of Impact Services: “Wellness court is a diversion program that offers multiple paths to safety, treatment, and recovery, allowing people to turn away from incarceration. I’m 100% in support of people getting out of the carceral system and into a system of care.”
- Malcolm Musgrove, Vice President of Adult Behavioral Health Services, SEPA states: “Merakey is grateful for the opportunity to partner with the City of Philadelphia to assist individuals in their recovery from behavioral health issues and substance use disorders. The Parker Administration’s vision to create innovative solutions through community-based collaborative approaches aligns perfectly with Merakey’s mission of empowering individuals to overcome challenges, achieve their recovery goals, and lead healthier lives.”