Philly Leader

The City of Philadelphia recently announced that an initiative to address the impact of the current opioid crisis on local neighborhoods has been awarded a second round of grant funding.

According to a press release, the Kensington Community Resilience Fund (KCR Fund) has released a second round of $200,000 in grant awards. Funding will go towards addressing quality of life impacts from the current opioid crisis on the neighborhoods of Kensington, Harrowgate and Fairhill.

KCR Fund has granted 20 awards of $10,000 each to organizations and projects that support the Kensington community. The funding will be especially important to BIPOC-led organizations in the local area which may have limited access to traditional sources of funding. The KCR Fund to seeks prioritize addressing six key issues including  public safety and gun violence; youth development, workforce development  and training, neighborhood beautification and blight removal;  connecting residents to resources, building resilience to community  trauma.

"We are pleased to announce that 20 grassroots organizations and community groups selected by residents will receive $10,000 grants for general operations," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said, according to the press release. "Since launching last April, the KCR Fund has granted $400,000 in flexible grants that allow these community-based organizations to advocate for the quality of life improvements and opportunities their communities deserve. This work is for Kensington by Kensington, and our goal is to help build neighborhoods in which all residents can thrive."

The KCR Fund’s approach encourages community participation and invites community members to help make funding decisions. Community members take part by reviewing applications, deciding eligibility for funding, and choosing which programs will receive funding.