The Steps We Can Take To Clean Up Kensington

by: Kayla Davis

The overwhelming opioid epidemic

Kensington & Allegheny is an neighborhood bordering the Frankford section in the city of Philadelphia. Over the Years this area has been the "homeland of opioid overdose", as Terri Banks, Kensington home owner, calls it. Walking through Kensington is often a hard sight to view because this area is overly populated with people who are addicted to a drug called Heroin.

Heroin is an opioid drug made from morphine, a natural substance taken from the seed pod of the various opium poppy plants grown in Southeast and Southwest Asia, Mexico, and Colombia. This drug is usually used in a powder, or liquid substance that is injected through a needle. Heroin is highly addictive because of how it rapidly affects the human brain causing the "user" to go through side affects of: dry mouth, weighted limbs, and the most commonly seen side affect of "nodding".

Stray, discarded needles on Kensington corner

During A walk through this community you instantly noticed dozens of stray, used needles lying on benches, sidewalks, stuck in street poles, etc. These stray needles are a safety hazard for not only bi standards trying to commute from school and work but for the addicts also. You never know what kinds of diseases are held within these needles and it only takes one time to get poked with one and catch something. So, I decided to think of a few solutions to help clean up the K&A streets and came across a organization called New Kensington Community Development Corporation.

I reached out to their company's email to inquire an interview and was instantly reached back by a member of the organization and community activist by the name of Lisa Wright. we had a short but straight to the point interview and The first thing said during the interview was my proposal on what I think should be done to help the clean up of K&A. "When driving through the area I noticed on a trash can that was there to encourage the disposal of the needles instead of leaving them on the ground and in the sight of children and others," I stated. As I stated that she instantly got excited and said that, "The idea of placing more medical waste cans on every corner" is already in affect and should be seen more around the city during the first week of January 2020. Lisa and the company of NKCDC hopes that this new project of cleaning up the community will try to decrease the filth and use of opioids in the neighborhood by decreasing the site or needles.