Thank you so much, Council President. I just want to ask the following questions. One, in the city of Philadelphia, when we decided that city agreed -- our residents agreed to have his office open, and also Council President Clarke proposed his office, one of the chief things that this department is supposed to do is to coordinate a violence prevention strategy at every city office is supposed to have, something that is dealing with the public. They're supposed to some sort of violence prevention strategy, such as the Commerce Department, DHS, clean and green, parks and rec. I just want to talk about, like, if you can talk more about your plan this year to make sure that all of these public facing departments have a violence prevention strategy as well. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Councilmember, thank you very much for your question. So to answer your question, we feel a lot of our work, right, the bread and butter of our work. And if you look at our portfolio, if you look at everything we're doing, it is interagency related. So the way that we see this, and then I'll get to what we're -- to the -- to the core of your question. But the way that we see our operation is not necessarily -- it's slightly different. Not necessarily you have your own plan, but your plan needs to be part of our city plan, right? So --
Excuse me, Mr. Geer. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yes.
Just a second. Because y'all turn your phone off or something. Whoever out there, they got their phone on disrupting the hearing. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: So for Kensington, for example, in all our efforts in Kensington, we don't want streets to be out there cleaning the streets as part of a plan that they think is their own public safety. So what we do is we step in and we coordinate with streets. We will coordinate with OHS, we will coordinate with DVHIS to make sure that they are on our plan for that particular action. For, and I don't necessarily want to bring up the tragic shooting that happened on your playground, but we were out there the night of and I went to the scene, it had been cleared in record time. I don't know how the police department restored the scene. Kids were playing on the playground just feet from where it had happened before. But there were some chalk markers, about of 15 them, left that were circled just a 16 few hours ago. There were shell 17 casings. And so me being out there, I saw that, we tightened that up. I reached out to Commissioner Slawson, because we're in constant communication to make sure that we have a plan for when crime scenes are left on our rec centers and stuff like that. That we also clean up the chalk marker so that our kids aren't seeing that, right? So that's a coordination. Now, where we are going with Philly Stat 360, now with our own internal performance management person, and they're going to be aligned, that process of identifying where our anti-violence spending was in each of the agencies, which we completed about a week ago by some measure, and yesterday by other people's measure, we now know how the agencies are spending their money that we think is violence prevention related. We will now be able to tie that information in with our work, with our metrics with 360, which are going to be speaking the same language and be able to coordinate even greater around some of our challenges. But the way that I think about it is that we're trying to identify what their public safety mission is, but then we are helping to coordinate and dictate the interagency response to whatever that is.
Thank you. I see what you're saying. I'm hoping that everyone can have their own plan that coordinates with you. Basically, I understand what you're saying, that it has to be reviewed and evaluated by you all, but it's connected with what your department mission is. And I just think that could be even more helpful in the involvement in, you know, in the development of your department. And I just want to just throw this in really quickly. Where is the funding -- can you -- can we have a better -- do better -- better transparency on how these community organizations that you're funding are going to be helping districts with their public safety concerns? Because honestly, I don't know any community organization that you funded that is within our district. And it may be because I'm not on to internet or researching it or whatever that might be, or I don't know if their grant detail is saying this is going to be helping our need, is going to be helping Mount Airy, West Oak Lane. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yep.
I would like to get those details in the future across the district so they, you know, these funds can help us. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Great question, Councilmember. We have been thinking about that, too. We're planning on demonstrating for council members a GIS tool, where you'll be able to do just that. It's with our OIT department now, so they can officially publish it. But within a week or two, or however long it's going to take them to officially publish it, you'll be able to go to a map, a web page on your phone, type in your zip code. You can search by, I believe councilmanic district. We're going to have the capability and it'll show you with a radius that you can toggle one mile, five mile, 10 miles, all of the city services related to public safety, including our grantees. So it'll be uploaded with what grantees are operating within your district. And I know I mentioned this at the town hall. In your particular district, about $14 million of our anti-violence groups will be operating in your district. So we took a survey, we set up the zip codes that make up your district.
Is that 14? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: 7 million, but -- 8
9 That's 14, there's 29 -- 10 CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: But 11 it -- 12
Is that because the Mayor used to have that district? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: No, no, that's --
14 that's a nice -- CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: They probably overlap --
But I would like to see what their proposed plan is what they must be doing in our district.
I just know, I think it's probably like some of these violence prevention groups are, you know, smart. Don't say we duality, we work in South Philly. And so I think it probably overlaps, but then it's like -- CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: There's overlap. There's overlap.
You know, I just don't know exactly what they're doing. I mean --
But for the record though, the 9th Councilmanic District, the former --
-- Mayor's district is getting 8 million of overlap funding around -- 9 CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: I 10 object. I object. No. But 11 seriously, Councilmember -- 12 Councilmember Phillips -- 13 Councilmember Phillips, I want you 14 to know though, seriously with this, you will be able to have a description of the organization and we're happy. I think we should do a briefing when we roll out our GIS tool, just so that you can use it and explain to your constituents, the resource. It also has fire departments, cold blue shelters, red. It's going to have all of that, and you can click which ones you want to see, but you will be able to see exactly what groups are operating in their district and get to know them, and we're of course happy to make that introduction as well.
Thank you, Council President. But I'll talk about Town Watch services in my next round. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Thank you, Councilmember.
Thank you. I'm looking forward to that -- to that new technology. I like that. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Nicholas O'Rourke. Then Councilmember Harrity, then Councilmember Lozada.
Thank you, Mr. President. Good afternoon -- CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Good afternoon.
-- Director Geer, as well as Manos and Dixon, blessings to you all. Director Geer, I want to start my -- by examining the Wellness Court pilot, which the administration hopes to expand from one to five days per week. This proposal raises some serious concerns, especially in light of critical reporting that suggests that the pilot has produced mixed and, in some cases, troubling outcomes. We've seen accounts of individuals being picked up and funneled into treatment only to leave expectedly, I might say, prematurely. That raises major red flags about consent, raises some -raises some red flags about effectiveness, certainly about expense. Frankly, it's hard to reconcile this level of investment in an under evaluated pilot with the administration's decision to cut programs like Zero Fare, if I might make a plug. Which although providing transit access to over 20,000 Philadelphians, the administration has decided to cut because it's an insufficient return on investment. Where's that same level of scrutiny being applied to the mayor's signature public safety initiatives? I want to ask some specific questions that I believe are still unanswered. I'd like to get through as much as we can during this round, so please allow me to outline at least half of the questions before you respond. And if you could summarize the responses, I really appreciate that, so we can get through all of them. How many individuals have gone through the Wellness Court to date? Of those, how many have been arrested or jailed? How many received treatment, and how many exited treatment in less than one week? If a person agrees to enter treatment but then doesn't begin treatment and does not return to court, what options are available to them? What processes are in place to determine whether individuals being picked up, one, consent to treatment, and two, are competent to stand -- to stand trial? And then what is the administration doing to guard against potential constitutional violations in this whole process? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Thank you very much for your questions and honesty for your concerns. Many of which when we embarked on the process of trying to develop this court, I guess maybe nine months ago, we started with these questions. Because the charge was clear from the Mayor that we have to restore norms to a community that's ravaged by the opioid drug -- open drug market in Kensington. I've spent enough time up there to expect that every time I go up there, I will likely see someone injecting a needle into their neck in broad daylight, and there may be a child in the vicinity, and we know the trauma that implores. So the charge was to reject the status quo with respect to allowing our communities to suffer in this way. And the folks importantly, which is why we started there. We did a -- an exhaustive analysis and a thoughtful approach of making sure that as we move forward with this Wellness Court pilot, that the safety and dignity of our folks is upfront. And that's why literally upfront. When they walk in through the door, they see a nurse who, if there is any sign of decompensating or anything, are taken directly across the street to Episcopal, which we've done. We have, with the Defenders Association partnership for the first time in our city's history, inability to clear local warrants and other issues that bought for that process. The folks would be sent up to State Road in the condition -- in the condition that they're in. Instead of that, my folks, police department, Defenders Association, anyone else does whatever they can --
That's my bell, Mr. -- Director Geer. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: -- to make sure -- but I want to -- I want to answer your question because this is critically important stuff.
Please do. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: What I think we're doing is taking a lot of the risk out and we're -- of interacting with folks, right, who are decompensating. And we will have a doctor --
My brother, can I get -- can I get an answer on the direct questions or that I asked, respectfully. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: If I -- if I was a lawyer, I'd say that it was a compound question. So I was going to ask you to go through, and I'm a lawyer, so I'd ask you to go through and maybe give me one or two or three, and then I'll be able to give you --
And I'll come back around for a second round after that. So again, how many individuals have gone through Wellness Court to date? Of those, how many have been arrested or jailed? How many receive treatment and how many exited treatment in less than one week? And if a person agrees to enter treatment, but then doesn't begin treatment, and does not return to court, what options are available then? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Right. So there's -- there's still too many questions, but let me generally speak -- and we will -- we will have a full briefing for you. We've also promised Councilmember Brooks that in six months, we're going to have a look back period where I think it will be fair to look at the numbers. We have been operating one day a week for nine weeks now. Just one day a week, and one of those weeks we really weren't in operation. I think as someone who is into the social science, it's just too early to tell. We've had 64 referrals come through our doors, 64 folks during those days. I can tell you that we've cleared --
Just give me one second. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Sure.
Chair recognizes Councilmember Thomas, point of information.
A point of information on Councilmember O'Rourke's question. I specifically would like to hear the answer to his question around the thought process, right? He asked in the beginning if the pilot -- and maybe you can reword it, Councilmember O'Rourke, but he talked about the pilot for SEPTA and compared it to the thought process, to the pilot around the wellness center. So I think for me, Council President, if I can just help get some clarity around that side along with the numbers that he asks, I think that would be beneficial. Sorry, Council President.
Member Geer -- Mr. Geer. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: So -- and I want to make sure that I'm understanding the question -- the question clearly because what --
Yeah. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: If you could rephrase the question.
We're talking about pilot programs, right? This is one, the SEPTA Zero Fare was one. We haven't even completed the full reporting date as it relates to SEPTA Zero Fare, and yet there has been a proposal to go ahead and cut it under the auspices of it, you know, the funding being dried up. It -- we have evidence. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: I see -- I see.
And we're collecting reports around that. How is it that, that would get cut because it's not a return on investment? But this pilot program which has some questionable mixed result, right, is we want -- how many millions of dollars we want? Over $100 million. So, just clarity. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: So this pilot program is $2.6 million, and then it's another $1 million for the defenders. So -- and we're talking about Neighborhood Wellness Court to be able to operate. So first of all, it's 2.6 -- it's 2.6 and --
No, I'm talking about -- I'm talking about the Wellness Court. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: I'm not -- so there will be a day where the Managing Director's office will come, we're going to talk about the Wellness Center. And we have to -- and we -- and we don't want to also think about any of this work in a vacuum, okay? We are building out for the first time an ecosystem. And I've just, in my opening comments, informed how much it honestly means to me that we have had folks come into Wellness Court and they are at Riverview. So I reject the notion that there's -- that there's problematic in all this stuff. We briefed the ACLU and their partners on the court --
And respectfully, sir -- CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: No, no, no, no. 23
I hear you reject the notion. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: I'm going to finish the question.
Well, the issue is you haven't answered them. The issue is you haven't answered, Mr. Geer. You haven't actually answered the question. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: We offered future briefings to the ACLU and we did not --
Mr. Geer, hold on for a second. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yes, sir.
And I -- again, I truly do not mean to sound unkind or disrespectful. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: No, you're not.
I am asking, though, specific questions as it relates to what is being produced from this pilot program that many have questions about. And I hear you making the case forward and, you know, arguing what I think many of us understand in terms of what's needed to address many of the issues in the city. And also, we're talking budget, we're talking numbers, and I'm trying to understand the logic here that we would in one instance cancel one pilot program and this one we want to fund it. And even with all the of the wonderful accolades that's being given, I can't get you to answer clearly any one of these. I've reduced it now. I gave you six first. Now four is too many. You're not giving a straight answer. It's very difficult to be persuaded or convinced by what you're saying. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: We had put on the record the first day of testimony that we'll be happy to circle back in six months when it's fair to the work, right? When we have actual reliable numbers rather than sit up here and try and opine on the -- on the numbers that we have so far. Now, I don't want to talk about other programs, this, that, and the other. I'm here to talk today about Wellness Court. We are facing a humanitarian crisis in Kensington. It is imperative that we develop new strategies that are as dignified and strategic as what we have done. Because the other option is the police Department is going to continue to restore norms. I can guarantee you we are going to continue to restore norms in that community that so desperately needs a return to normalcy. And the fact that folks get to come through the door and the first person they see is a nurse, and then there's going to be a doctor from Penn Addiction Medicine who will prescribe them MAT in the parking lot and they will begin their journey and end up in Riverview is exactly the kind of work that we should be engaged in. And I'm proud to do it as a city servant.
Thank you, Mr. Geer. Thank you, Mr. President. I'll come back.
The Chair recognizes Councilmember Katherine Gilmore-Richardson.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. I just wanted to place on the record a point of information that this is our budget process wherein the members of City Council per our roles and responsibility, are charged with ensuring that we understand how the city dollars are spent. And so, I just wanted to put on the record that I do think it's a fair question that begs an answer prior to the six-month period even if you don't have all the information. Because we are undertaking this process and making a very -- soon to make determinations on a number of budget allocations across city government. And I do think this is a fair question from Councilmember O'Rourke that should be answered. And if you don't have the answer today, my request is to provide the information in writing to our Council President for dissemination to all the members of Council prior to us undertaking this process. Thank you.
Thank you very much. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Thank you, Councilmember.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Harrity. But also just to follow-up, Mr. Geer. Mr. Geer, just to follow-up -- CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yes.
-- for the record that the information to be provided. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yes.
What Majority Richardson requested. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Jim Harrity for point of information. Chair recognizes the Councilmember Quetcy Lozada.
I'm just going to ask that folks actually speak to their microphones because my hearing aids are missing some of what you all are saying. So if you could just be so kind as to speaking to your microphone, I want to capture everything that you all are saying. Thank you so much.
Okay. All right. We're good now? My time didn't start yet, right?
No, your time didn't start yet, Mr. Harrity. It won't be a longwinded --
Don't worry, I'm going to be fast. I'm not going to be long with it.
First, always, you know, you have to give props where they're due. I was working on a young man to get him into treatment for a couple years now. And he went in front of the Judge and decided that he wanted to go into treatment. He spent two months over at 8th and Girard and then was transferred over to the Wellness Village. It's just a point of information so everybody knows. The Wellness Village is not where they're being treated. They go for treatment. The Wellness Village is aftercare and housing. So he is now in the Wellness Village. Thank you, Malcolm and your people for helping this young man. He came to see me the other day on one of his outs. He's currently looking for a job. He looked great and was very excited about the wellness facility and how dignified it actually was especially since he had just come from 8th and Girard. And, you know, if you can get sober at 8th and Girard, you can get sober anywhere. But my questions now. I would like to know how you see the Wellness Court and AMP working together? Because us in the Kensington Caucus, we see it as two cogs in a wheel. We believe that they need to be worked hand in hand, and AMP is one of the most effective tools in the tool bag. I think what my colleague was trying to get at with the people not staying was different because that's not the AMP program. The AMP program, they're actually --
I'm sorry. The AMP program is court stipulated. So the one that they were released from, and I heard the same stuff, was PAD when they go involuntarily. They went in, decided they didn't want to be there on the required ride to the place and jumped out or whatever. But the other program is court stipulated and that's hence, the reason there's a difference between the two of them both having different places, right? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Absolutely.
So, how do you -- how do you see that? And are we going to see AMP continue to operate? Because while AMP is actually mostly funded through the courts, it's a court funded program, there are some costs that the city does have to -- have to accumulate. So just want to make sure that when you're thinking of the wellness that you realize that there are two separate things that also we need just like one or the other. So just trying to figure out about funding the actual AMP, the extra that's needed for that also and other causes that come up with that which is like the PD's office needs extra money to run five days a week, two days. I think they told us it was an extra million dollars. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: That's right. That's right, Councilmember. Thank you for the question. And we've included that in the budget, asked for them to be able to continue their partnership, that $1 million and provide that support. But to your point, I think both programs so far have really complimented each other. We have a Judge who oversees both Neighborhood Wellness Court and AMP and we've had instances where folks have been taken into Wellness Court on the summary and they had AMP bench warrants, meaning that they were in the AMP program but had failed to appear at that court hearing. And they were brought right back before the Judge to reintegrate that person into their treatment, into their course. And it's the Judge who's familiar with them and their history and all of that. So I think it's only going to strengthen our supports and our diversionary programs for folks who are -- who are engaged this way. It's that first step of a summary offense and then it steps up to the AMP program, which is -- which is some more severe penalties, more severe outcomes, possible record, that kind of a thing. And then there's interventions below -- I'm sorry, Neighborhood Wellness Court like PAD where we're off-boarding people before they -- it's pre-arrest. And then we have things before that, outreach in services and walk-in. So it's just a necessary part of the spectrum of dealing with folks who are coming in for substance use disorder.
So we have your commitment that AMP will stay around and you are -- CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: You have my commitment. It's a -- it's a great program and it's necessary in that spectrum.
And they're all great programs. PAD, they do fantastic work. This guy is everywhere. You know what I'm saying? So, like, I don't -- CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Kurt August, for the record.
-- want to discount one for the other. I'm just explaining that in our caucus opinion is that --
I'm sorry. In our caucus opinion it's all one, you know, thing, working together so that we have more tools in the toolbox. If they want to go voluntarily, great. But if they commit a crime and we have to use the other program, it's there. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Right.
It's about getting them into recovery in the long way. So I appreciate your commitment to that. Thank you, Council President. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Thank you, Councilmember.
You are welcome. Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, then Councilmember -Brooks did you have your button on? Because it's not on. Then Councilmember Brooks. I got it.
Thank you, Council President. First, thank you. Thank you all for the work that you're doing around the entire --
Fresh. Thank you, Council President. Thank you all for being here this afternoon and thank you for the work that you all are doing in Kensington. Kurt, you know, shout out to you. We hit you hard at the beginning when you first came into the neighborhood and I appreciate you continuing to come and hear community residents out and really work hard to figure out how we did the necessary work while still ensuring that their voices were prioritized and we're grateful for that. This is new, right? This ecosystem that is being built is new, is not something that we see anywhere else in any other city, and so success is going to be measured by the number of people that came in front of us, the number of people that accepted treatment. The number of people that we saw in that revolving door -- or not in the revolving door, actually moving on to living successful healthy lives. And so we have to have those numbers. It's -- those numbers are extremely important. I have seen firsthand how Wellness Court works. I've sat in that courtroom, I've listened to those who have come in front of the Judge. I've seen the Judge interact with these individuals. I've heard their challenges. I've seen and heard success stories. I've seen providers work alongside people who when they're in front of the Judge, maybe are not ready but before they walk out, they end up being ready because of the conversation and the interaction that was had. But those numbers are important. And I'm not going to ask -- I was going to ask some of those numbers but we'll -- I hope to see them soon. My question, though, is in -- you are asking or you're considering an expansion, number one, would you all consider the expansion to remain at 3901? And would you all consider the expansion running at the same time as AMP? Because I think that both of them are extremely important programs. And No. 3 -- No. 1, No. 8 2, No. 3, can you explain the difference between AMP, Wellness Court and Treatment court? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yes. Thank you.
Because I think they're all three different, they all offer different options. But I think that if folks understood the difference between the three of them, they would understand why wellness court is so important. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Thank you very much for the council -- I'm sorry, for the question, Councilmember. And I truly value partnership with all of our Council Members. We've worked on some issues, we've worked on various issues and I truly value this partnership with all of you and I really value our partnership and all of the conversations we've had late night and otherwise about the folks in your -- in your Councilmanic district and what they're facing. So to answer your question, expansion, yes. We want to continue to expand that 3901 Whitaker. It's just -- we -- the city has this lease; it is operated by Merakey. We are partners with Merakey up there, and they do really, really, really great work. We now have secured the parking lot where we think we'll be able to do some programming out of the parking lot. It just -- it makes sense. And we will be getting access to the top floor where we'll be able to continue to put social services, connections on that top floor and really make it the Kensington wellness and support center. That's why we changed the name there. We do want it to operate that five days a week and maybe more on into those off hours into the weekend. We think that AMP, it would be tremendous if AMP could be on those same days as well. All -- really, all hands on deck. We're willing to try anything and we think that -- we think that makes sense already the off hours support that PAD offers. So we're going to PAD with our expansion that we're asking the budget. We're going to be going to 24/7, 365, our Kensington Support Wellness Center up there offering services. They already do Sunday to Friday overnight and have engaged something like 500 people in three months. So, 500 people in three months just by operating. That's not the weekend. That's Sunday night to Friday at night of folks who are coming in to get services. We're going to take that onto the weekends. In the summer, we're going to be live 24/7 hopefully by the end of that month and that's just a lot more folks. So it's really all coming together and we're just going to continue to push on it. To answer your second question, the difference between AMP and wellness court. Wellness Court, again, is that -- lower summary offense is what the police would be bringing folks into custody on, very low exposure for a reason, immediate expungement if they -- if they complete successfully. So that's an immediate thing. With Wellness Court, it's someone's openly using drugs or they're intoxicated. They don't even need to have -- they're intoxicated or they're on the sidewalk, obstruction of highways. Those are all summaries where we can say, okay, you're coming with us, you're very intoxicated, you're wandering into traffic. You go through the door of Wellness Court. You are seen by a nurse. You are seen by a doctor. You could get medically assisted treatment. You are -- then you get a housing specialist who tries to understand your housing needs and will set you up with that. You meet with a behavioral health specialist who says you're here on the same level of treatment. And then the attorney down there says, okay, you can either go to court this afternoon. The immediacy of it, you can either be in front of a judge this afternoon for a summary trial that there'll be ready to have and get a fine if that's -- if you're -- if you're convicted or you've just gotten medically assisted treatment or whatever, you're thinking a little bit clear, we have this recommendation for you where you can be in a bed today. And that's the -- that's with Wellness Court. It's immediate. It's same day. AMP court, someone is arrested on a misdemeanor higher level crime, more exposure. They don't go to the Kensington Wellness Support Center.
They go to a cold cell at 3901 Whitaker that does not have a nurse, that does not have a housing specialist, that does not have medically assisted treatment, that does not have behavioral health specialist. Doesn't have any of that. They just go to the cell. They -- if they have a warrant, you're going up to State Road, period. Wellness Court, you have a warrant. We're working to get that warrant cleared if it's a low level so that you can enter into treatment. So again, AMP, you're going up to State Road, if you have that warrant. If you don't, you're being processed. You're probably getting bail. You're probably getting released that day. And you're probably in a lot of cases going out to court -- going right back out to the street when you don't have that immediacy, right? You're given a subpoena to come down to the criminal justice center. That's AMP. But though, very critically important to the piece, right? It's just a -- it's a necessary also component of diversion. But it's different. It's not as immediate. And you don't need the crime of having drugs or using drugs. You don't need -- it's just public drunkenness, intoxication, these summary offenses, right? And then there's treatment court. Treatment court, as I understand it, and I don't want to speak too much about it because it's been a long time since I was at the DA's office. But treatment court is meant more for people who are engaging in drug dealing and have, you know, many folks are in deal -- with drug dealing and we're giving them options. We're making sure that they also -- if they're swept up in some stuff, they're caught dealing. It's for those folks who need an opportunity. But those are drug dealers and so it's -- they're in that misdemeanor felony tier.
I think that part of what you miss is the -- and I think it's extremely important, is the compassion and the connection that the judge and the individual have while standing in that room. What I witnessed when I was there was a conversation between a person of authority and someone in desperate need talking to one another almost as if no one else was in that space. That's the level of connection that the judge and the individual who is suffering in that moment have in Wellness Court. That's not -- you don't see that everywhere. I think that it's important, right? That person walks in and they don't know what is going to happen at that moment. And I don't think that, when you think about a Judge, you're walking, you're like, I'm going to jail, right? The person that is standing there doesn't believe that there's a judge that has so much compassion for him or her. It's insane. And so I think that -- I encourage all of my colleagues. I can't even explain. I was moved to tears. I was moved to tears with the individual that stood in front of this judge, and the Judge had so much compassion for him that he forgot where he was and the conversation just became them. And he accepted services right there. There were so many people there ready to help. I don't think that individual was ready to receive all the support that he received. And this -- again, this is something new that we don't -- this ecosystem is being built from the ground up with those who are suffering from addiction as the priority getting connected right then and there on the spot. Please, I encourage each one of you to take a Wednesday and just go sit in that space and listen to Judge Lewandowski and those individuals have a conversation about how they got there and how tired they are and how much they really want support. Thank you. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Thank you, Councilmember.
Councilmember Gauthier then Councilmember Brooks, and then Councilmember Rue Landau. Then we'll be wrapping it up.
Thank you, Council President. Good afternoon, Director Geer. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Good afternoon.
Thank you to you and your team for being here and the -- for the work that you do on behalf of the city. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Thank you, Councilmember.
The FY26 budget emphasizes interdepartmental collaboration as we -- in our efforts on violence prevention. I think I understood your example in response to Councilmember Dr. Phillips about how this plays out in Kensington. But I wanted you to expound more on that inter-agency collaboration. So can you describe how OPS collaborates with other city agencies or nonprofits to serve individuals and communities especially youth and those experiencing mental health challenges who might be either victims or sometimes perpetrators of violence? And can you specifically name the funding resources and activities that drive that collaboration? And then I have another question around our 24-hour response. So I know that OPS just started in FY25 measuring the percentage of shooting incidents responded to by one or more OPS programs within hours. 19 So I know that you don't 20 have data for the full time period, 21 but I was wondering if you could 22 give us a sense of what our track 23 record and percentage is as far as 24 responding to shooting incidents within that 24-hour time period year to date. Are we hitting that 100 percent metric at this time? And if not, what are barriers and what supports and resources do you need to hit that metric? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Thank you very much for the question, Councilmember. To answer your first question, I think GVIJ would probably be the best example. One of the -- one of the great examples. Again, almost everything we do is interagency and relies on some assets from MDO, Police Department, community partners and beyond. But with GVIJ, we have Deion Sumpter and his team who will go out on the weekends and they are going to see and do home visits of folks who are the likeliest by the Police Department's Intelligence, the likeliest to either be shot or killed or to shoot or to kill, right? So the police department identifies these folks. Deion goes out with his team, knocks on their door on a Saturday. They have in the van -- and I've been in the van, they've got a mother who's lost a child to gun violence so that that mother can provide her a perspective to whomever answers the door on the other side. They've got folks who are prepared to offer jobs, not like a week from now but jobs within a couple of days, employment opportunities, mental health supports and --
Are these people all in the van? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Say again?
Are all these people in the van or how would you -- CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: These people are in the van.
Okay. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yes, It's pretty -- it's pretty cool. They got two vans.
It's a big van. Yeah. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: They got -- they're pretty -- yeah, they're cool vans. And I'm sure we could have you out or anyone else who would want to be out on one of those can certainly see that it's --
I would love to go. I've asked for this before, so I'll take you up. Yeah. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: It's pretty -- it's pretty cool to see. And the one time I was out there, I think last summer, we had Ms. Phyllis jump out. And as soon as -- there was -- the person was not there on the list but her mother was. So that's Ms. Phyllis, that's her calling card. She jumped up, went, interacted, had a very long conversation. The point being to continue to inform the parent, where is your son, these are the resources, we'll get them resources. We'll get them what they -- what they need in that help. Now we're extending that to juveniles as you know, here's the partnership with the Federal Government. Representative Scanlon secured that $615,000, so we could expand that GVI program to juveniles. They don't have to be on a list identified by police. That's, grandma is concerned about their kid, there's going to be a number to call. Already we're servicing 40 kids who are in this GVIJ program. We -- I'm trying to think if there's -- there's so many other partners involved with that particular program. It really, truly is interagency but that's the kind of -- that's the kind of work we do.
Okay. And just for clarity, these sort of wraparound resources that you're offering through GVIJ, this is not just staff that's working for OPS. You're saying you coordinate with commerce on the jobs or with DBHIDS. Is that how the inter-agency -- CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yes.
-- collaboration works? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: That's exactly right. That's exactly right.
Thank you. And then my -- can you answer the second question about sort of responding in hours, how 4 often are we meeting that metric? 5 CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: 6 Eighty percent. 7
8 Okay. What's the barrier and what 9 do you need more of? 10 CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: 11 That's a good question, 12 Councilmember. In all candor, I'd 13 like to circle with my team. We can 14 provide you a written response, but 15 I want to get it right. I want to 16 get what the barriers are to that 17 question so we can solve it. 18
19 Thank you very much. 20 CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Thank 21 you, Councilmember. 22
Thank you. Councilmember Brooks. And we will be wrapping up with Councilmember Landau, then we have appropriations meeting.
All right. Thank you so much, Council President. Where do I start? I had similar questions to Councilmember O'Rourke. So I'm going to just submit mine in writing as well. But one thing I tend to realize, things that have big numbers, you have all the answers for and the things that we're assuming have smaller numbers, you can't answer those questions but I'll wait for it in writing and I understand --
Member Brooks, can you speak in the microphone for me, please?
Okay. Yeah. Sure. I will. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: I heard it, though.
You heard me, though, right? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: I heard -- I heard it, Councilmember.
Okay. So my questions, I'm going to just move on to the next thing and I'll get -- can you provide more detail about the new administrative staff and their roles in expanding the Office of Public Safety operations? Specifically, I want to understand how many new positions are being created and how many are being transferred from the MDO? And are all of these dedicated to the Wellness Center? And part two, what departments do you coordinate with for the encampment clearances and what is the total expense of each encampment suite? And I know you have this information on the dashboard, but it's two months behind. And I was wondering when we can get weekly updates or a better update of this so we don't have to answer questions this way. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Sure. So your first question, just remind me, I'm sorry, Councilmember.
About the new positions. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Oh, yes. Thank you. So, no, they're not all dedicated to the Wellness Center. In fact, we're still trying to build out some of our administrative work for the Wellness Center. We've actually -- we've been able to accomplish the pilot with just all internal resources. For example, we had a very talented individual who is a social worker who could stand up immediately some of the needs we needed around assessing people. So we just put one piece and put it in the other. A lot of our administrative new folks that we brought on have been in these -- in the spirit of fulfilling, I think, the Office of Public Safety's interagency mission and the work that we're doing to try and tie all our offices together. So that would be the director of Interagency Partnerships, really -- that's the title. So really putting an emphasis on the work. And that's how we utilize that piece. If it's a project, so for example, mobile providers in Kensington focusing on that issue, it's an e-mail to him. He's e-mailing DBHIDS, he's e-mailing law, he's e-mailing all the -- health, all the parties and setting up a meeting and then following that. So that's how that operates, making sure that we have someone dedicated to knowing those pieces, those assets and being able to communicate the needs. We have our director of -- sorry. Yes. Do you have a follow-up?
No, no, no, no. I think -- I think what I'm asking for before my time runs out, because we are asking for descriptions and you're giving this, like, long things. If we can have these in writing -- CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Sure.
Because, like, a lot of these things cost a lot of money that we are responsible for saying yes and no to, and we just want to make sure that we understand the sequence of operation and exactly what are we agreeing to. So whether it's 1 million, 2.6 million adding up to a hundred-million dollars, we need to know exactly where every million is going because we're going to be held accountable for it. So if we can get these breakdowns in writing, whether it's staffing allocations around the Office of Public Safety Operations, the Wellness Support Center and where people are going, the difference between AMP, PAD and whoever, and who's paying for it. For us to receive the information like this, pieced together, doesn't give us the opportunity to adequately say, yes, you can have a hundred-million dollars. And I'm putting the big number out there because you guys can figure out 1, 2, 5-million here or this. But we can't even determine that when we're just getting the information piecemealed or we can't get the information at all. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: So there would be -- and to answer your question here, and we will get you more detailed explanation as well in writing, but five would be for administrative staff. There would be new for the Wellness Court, 11 and then eight for our Office of Reentry Partnerships particularly supporting P3 and the great work that they're doing.
Eight for the Office of Reentry? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yes.
Okay. That's what's up. No, they be going up to the prisons doing the work. I've seen them, but, okay.
-- in writing? That's -- I'm just asking for it in writing. That would be very helpful. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Councilmember, yes.
Member Geer -- Mr. Geer, please provide the information to the member -- to the Chair as a request to Member Brooks. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yes, Council President.
Thank you so much. I know I had to come in a little late, so hopefully I'm not overlapping. I'm just going to ask some quick ones and look forward to the information that you provide as well to everybody else. You said that through the Wellness Court, there has been 64 referrals. How -- and how many people have gone to the wellness village from there? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: So due to the number -- and due to the number, we cannot specifically say because it would be identifying -- we believe it would be identifiable because it is -- it is not a -- it is not a large number we can say that there are people who've been through, who've made it to the end.
Are there other ways to get to the Wellness Village other than Wellness Court? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yes.
Okay. So my understanding, is one person, one, has been referred -- has gone from Wellness Court to Wellness Village and here's my real question. This is not how I thought it was supposed to be set up initially, but my understanding is you go through Wellness Court and if you agree to go to treatment, you go to a 30, 60 or 90-day treatment facility before you get to the Wellness Village. What has been the success rate of the folks going to 30, 60, and 90 treatment plans and who are they? Who are we contracting with? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Right.
And is the city funding that as well? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: So, the -- these are great questions and I think, well, the more days and weeks that go by, the more we're able to answer that question. So 30 days ago, we wouldn't be able to -- or rather let me go back. Ninety days ago when we started the thing, we wouldn't be able to -- that number would be zero because someone wouldn't have had the opportunity to do 30, 60, or 90. So there are folks who are in the system, and then when they come out, whether it's 30 -- like, they're in the system, in other words, and they will come out at some point. And we will have that more information, but we're so early on to the point, I think, we're trying to -- we were trying to make, that we just can't reliably say because there's still folks in the system, right?
I understand that. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: And they could complete tomorrow, the next day --
How many people have selectively taken the -- left -- left the programs, 30, 60 or 90? How many people have gone in? And how many people have checked themselves out and not made it to the end goal? I will tell you, in the very beginning I thought the Wellness Village was going to be the place where people would go, start to go through their, you know, through their medical regimen to actually start transitioning into the larger part of the Wellness Village. Then we found out they're going to 30, 60 or 90s first. And my understanding is a lot of people are not getting through that process, so they're not making it over to the village in the end. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Councilmember, you're hitting on something that right now, we pivoted a lot with Wellness Court for the better. You are hitting on something that we are improving. And it is -- and this is probably one of the most exciting things in my current life. Is the -- is the ability to -- when we get that doctor and who's going to be giving the MAT, we know that we're going to have more success. This is a pilot. So we're adding things to it that we think makes success and will help. To your point, we found by a couple of examples, and I'll give you that example, that when those folks are getting that MAT, when they're getting it right after arrest or whatever, they're in a much better place. They will accept services, they'll go to the 30, 60, 90, they'll make it to the end. We are plugging that part into Wellness Court where they'll be able to be stabilized. And we've got some more -- we've got some more planning around that. That will be even more robust. The example I would give to your point is we had folks who were -- did not make it through Wellness Court. They came in, they were too sick, we took them to Episcopal. Got out on a subpoena for a summary and said come back next Wednesday when you're stabilized. So they stabilized them at Episcopal. Guess what? They came back to Wellness Court the next Wednesday when Wellness Court was operating and accepted services and went in. And to my original point, we don't know where they're at, in the 30, 60 or 90, because they're in, right? Hopefully. But we -- to your point, we want them to get to the end. We want them to get to Riverview and we're building in those systems to make sure they're as successful as possible.
Okay. I love the names of the programs that we're working with. I'd love to know how we're funding them. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yes.
I'd love to know how many people are going in and how many people are self-checking out. I don't forget -- remember what we call that, self- leaving. Thank you. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Thank you, Councilmember.
Thank you very much. And just the last member of discretion, Dr. Phillips, is it rapid? Like, real quick? We all got appropriations meeting after this.
Just really quickly I just wanted to note that, you know, Town Watch Integrated Services plays an incredible role in the city. I just want to see how we can further expand that program. That's all.
I want to support that. Now, I'll be upfront. I've been asking that question since it was the Kenney administration, right? And I think it might have been before Kenney Town Watch was a little more out -- they were actually out in the community, a whole lot more, right? So is there a plan to integrate Town Watch in an overall strategy in terms of public safety? Also, could we consider -- I know we do -- we have a contract with PAN, but PAN belongs inside The Philadelphia School District, right? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yeah.
Back in the day, Bennie Swans and other gentlemen who created the organization, Mr. Bill Mills. And Shondell remember this, we were actually -- this is my activist days, so you're not trying to progress as, you know, you can't out progressive me. Like, as an activist in the neighborhood, right, around this issue of gun laws, we were actually going with PAN in the schools, right? But now they going to schools but there's not official contract with the district, so it's kind of like they're doing the work but don't get the additional funding. So we could have a longer conversation about that, but it is -- like, what is the plan for Town Watch Integrated Services to be a part of the strategy to keep our city safe. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yeah. They are an important part of the strategy to -
How much is their budget this year? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: So their budget is just under million, Council President, 0.8 million. And in the work that they do to your point, right, they got Pedals for Peace. They've -- which is a great program. They're going to be having our kids ride safe bikes through. We've got them -- they set up the first last year ever Public Safety Awareness Month, they operate our safe quarters and coordination get volunteers.
So why is the budget only a million dollars? Just asking? If it's -- if they're so significant -- CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Right.
As a part of a tool to keep our city safe, then I would just say that, you know, part of your strategy maybe want to look at investing more and expanding because they were very, very successful at being integrated in the community. And they also shifted the narrative of Town Watch being a traditionally mainstream organization. So they're actually in the neighborhood, on the ground, and they got -- and you also hire regular people through Town Watch to be integrated. And so I personally don't think a million dollars is really a show of a priority in terms of what we got, close to $7 billion budget. It's just my response respectfully. Dr. Phillips?
Yeah. And I -- and I just -- that's -- that was the point I was trying to make, is that you can't have as many Town Watchers in the city of Philadelphia if you only have, like, two special liaisons, you know, going out into the community. They -- what I would like to see is that they're literally are -- for every community, they're going out and organizing the community and teaching them how to do the Town Watch. So I could be able to say we organize this many Town Watches in each district in the city of Philadelphia, not just the 9th District. And I think that's really bringing that One Philly vibe and community connection. I just want to echo that. I don't -- I just don't understand.
Point of information for Member Young and we'll wrap it up after that.
Thank you, Mr. President. I just wanted to get some clarity that, you know, we all were saying Town Watch is getting their budget requested for a million dollars, but aren't there, like, applicants for CEG grants that are, like, more than that as well, more than what Town Watch budget is? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: So there are applicants that will -- that will have more than $800,000, yes. Yes, and they're running programming for a year and whatever their operating costs are, we look at. But let me -- let me just be very clear about this for the record. This has been an incredible experience. I've an incredible group of folks as you've seen my team here. And nothing makes me happier when I see Anthony Murphy walk into my office, I know, and seeing his folks, they do incredible work and we value it so much. I hear what you all are saying. I just want to leave it by saying that they are incredible. They're always out there at the community. They're the first to go out to these community events and be ready for everyone and set this stuff up. So we're just --
You know, I support you, right? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: We're tremendously proud of them.
I've known Anthony Murphy for years, 17 right? I mean, he's -- we all know 18 Anthony Murphy. He's great at his 19 job and what he does but, like, we 20 need to really invest in that. That's just, you know --
All we're saying is, Mr. Geer, I know somebody probably sending you messages, but it is what it is. The reality is that I know you value him, right? And it's just not just about him, it's about the work that they do, right? CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Right.
It's just another tool in your toolbox that I think that you could put on steroids. Put them in the schools, right? Put them inside the charter schools, put them in our school district, right? Put PAN inside the schools. And I just think that'll enhance the things that we are doing to kind of address the issue of public safety in the city. That's all I have, sir. CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Yeah.
I just want to thank you though. You stuck it out for your whole self though, okay, for the whole time. So I commend you for that, stepping up to the plate. But most importantly, we as partners, right, we're just doing our job to make sure it's fiscally responsible in terms of how we move forward with this budget. But also as a matter of public safety, everybody in this room is very, very passionate about the issue. So I thank you for your time out of your schedule -- CHIEF DIRECTOR GEER: Of course.
-- coming and addressing, answering the hard questions. And with that being said, the Chair recognizes my Majority Leader. You ready?
My Majority Leader for a motion that the public hearing and meeting on the bills and resolutions before the committee today stand in recess until Wednesday, April 9th, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. in room 400 City Hall.
It has been moved and properly seconded that the public hearing and meeting on the bills and resolutions before the committee today stand in recess until Wednesday, April 9th, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Those opposed? The ayes have it. And this meeting stands in recess 'til Wednesday, April 9th at 10:00 a.m. of 2025. Thank you very much. (Public hearing and meeting on bills and resolutions concluded at 4:25 p.m.) C E R T I F I C A T I O N I hereby certify that the proceedings and evidence are contained fully and accurately in the notes taken by me of the above case, and this copy is a correct transcript of the same. _______________ Samanda J. Rios