Stoneleigh Fellow Samantha Melamed and Stoneleigh Board Member Kevin Bethel were featured by The Philadelphia Inquirer for their efforts to improve the city’s youth justice system.
Not long ago, AARP crowned Philadelphia as one of the nation’s best places to retire, citing its walkable streets, access to arts and culture, relatively affordable housing, and retiree-friendly communities.
That honor rings hollow when you consider Philly is one of the nation’s toughest places to grow up.
In the nation’s poorest big city, one in every four children lives in poverty, as compared with 15.5% of children in Pennsylvania. Kids here are likely educated by the School District of Philadelphia, a long-underfunded education system that lags behind statewide standardized test score averages for proficiency in reading and math. Many of the buildings they attend classes in are crumbling or even potentially hazardous. Those who manage to make it through this gauntlet are greeted with a local job market that has long struggled to keep up with other East Coast cities.
