Questions arise over addiction triage centers proposed in Philadelphia mayor’s budget

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council had a lot of questions about Mayor Cherelle Parker’s spending priorities as budget hearings got underway on Tuesday. One big area of focus was the triage centers the mayor proposed to address addiction and related issues.

Parker asked for $100 million in capital funds to build the centers. As Managing Director Adam Thiel testified, they would provide services to people suffering from addiction who have overdosed, are homeless, or have in some way come into contact with city services, “making sure that folks get the long-term care, treatment and housing they need.”

City Council members had specific questions about how many centers there would be, where they would go and how they would work, but Thiel said he couldn’t give details.

“Right now, this system doesn’t even exist in the form we’re talking about. Pieces of it do, so job one is connecting the pieces that do exist and starting to build out the parts that don’t,” he told Council.

Councilmember Kendra Brooks was concerned that referrals to the centers sounded coercive or would replace other services. Thiel said that wouldn’t be the case.

“What we think is needed is a big vision and a series of investments to do exactly as you’re suggesting: Get the right treatment for the right folks at the right time for as long as they need it,” he said.

Despite a dearth of specifics, Thiel said that if Council delivered the requested funding, the centers could open in a matter of weeks.

Among other areas of concern for Council members were cuts in funding for some departments and for rental assistance. Councilmember Jaime Gauthier pointed out how crucial rental assistance has been to the city’s eviction diversion program.

“This has been a wildly successful program. It’s helped thousands of tenants and it’s helped us because it helps us not to have people on the street and homeless,” said Gauthier.

Council President Kenyatta Johnson questioned why there was no increase in free pre-kindergarten seats. He was also concerned about the erosion of the city’s fund balance over Parker’s five-year plan until it is just 1% of the budget.

Finance Director Rob Dubow said the hope is that spending it on cleaning, public safety and schools will actually improve the city’s economy. “Our plan is to make Philadelphia a more attractive place,” he said.