CITY

No Safe haven: President and CEO Anne Shenberger says the loss of funding could impact city social services. (Photograph by Michael Persico)

Service Learning

It remains to be seen how large a void Safe and Sound will leave.

by Jeffrey Hill

Last month Anne Shenberger, president and CEO of Philadelphia Safe and Sound, a nonprofit formed to improve the health, safety and well- being of children and youth, was voted by Philly.com’s suburban site Phillyburbs.com “woman of the week.” Noted for creating the citywide Children’s Report Card and Community Report Cards, Shenberger was proud her organization provided a service that had been widely used by the city’s social services agencies for the previous eight years to help fight child poverty.

But that’s all gone now. So soon after she was recognized, Shenberger’s labor of love will be dissolved June 30 by the mayor’s order.

“Government services are a significant factor in seeing that kids who are poor have somewhat similar opportunities as those from more affluent neighborhoods,” says Shenberger. “I’d like our organization to be remembered as providing for the city’s children rather than for the political situation that’s received so much press. We have a lot of talented people here, and I’d hate for these accomplishments to be lost in the media coverage.”

As these programs are being discontinued, some rather grim statistics are grabbing headlines. On April 30, after weeks of reported violent crimes involving minors, the Philadelphia Daily News reported that from 2002 to 2006, child poverty in Philadelphia and its suburbs increased 113 percent.

Shenberger says the absence of Safe and Sound will impact social services in Philadelphia. The void could force several after-school and violence prevention programs to close. “There will be a transition period,” she says.

Philadelphia has struggled with poverty and homelessness for decades. While campaigning for mayor last year, Michael Nutter promised to tackle poverty head-on. Since taking office in January, Nutter has been turning the crank, but not always in the same direction.

At the end of his first month in office he called for the lethargic Department of Human Services (DHS) to shape up and mobilize. “I want the system fixed,” he told its panel members at City Hall. “I want children to be safe. I want our families to be brought back together.” Signing an executive order that would expand the board’s membership, Nutter also increased DHS’ responsibilities.

In early February Mayor Nutter shocked Philadelphia Safe and Sound by cutting $21 million from its budget—money he claimed was never authorized. Last year then-mayor John Street’s request to increase Philadelphia Safe and Sound’s budget by $21 million was rejected, so Street trimmed from 200 other city programs, including the DHS, to make up for it.

With these programs getting cut again, several organizations that deal with the city’s underprivileged children are on edge. Claiming children would be losing their safe haven, some people like Arlene Bell, president of Caring People Alliance, told Philly.com, “We are going to have to tell some families we can’t serve their children anymore.”

“It’s a troubling trend,” says Shenberger, noting that providing sustainable jobs for adults so that they can provide for their children is an essential ingredient to the solution. “Our organization’s chair said it best, and I’ll reiterate, it became clear that there was not a commitment on the part of the city to fund our organization in the future. We were created by the city 10 years ago, and after seeing that lack of commitment, we decided the best thing to do would be to dissolve.”

Shenberger believes the services Philadelphia Safe and Sound provided will eventually be taken over by the city, but maybe not this year.