DEA Announces Community Resources For Kensington Area
PHILADELPHIA - Jon Wilson, Special Agent-in-Charge of DEA’s Philadelphia Field Division announced today that the DEA has provided and will continue to provide community resources from its 360 Strategy for residents of the Kensington area.
The 360 Strategy, which was initially announced at the “El Barrio Es Nuestro Summit” funded by the DEA in Kensington in January 2017, is a multi-prong approach to address the opioid crisis through coordinated law enforcement actions against high-level drug traffickers that pose the greatest threat to our area, diversion control efforts to reduce the illegal diversion of prescription opioids, and community outreach resources to assist neighborhoods affected by the opioid crisis.
“The DEA’s primary mission is the investigation and dismantlement of drug-trafficking organizations worldwide that pose the greatest threat to our communities,” said SAC Wilson. “However, we also recognize that addressing the opioid crisis requires a multi-faceted approach that involves DEA’s community outreach efforts and education resources.”
Since the inception of the 360 Strategy, the DEA has provided Youth Dance Programs at the Alexander K. McClure, Bayard Taylor, and Isaac A. Sheppard elementary schools in North Philadelphia. The DEA Youth Dance Program is a free 20-week afterschool program designed to teach children about healthy lifestyles through the art of dance. To date, the DEA Youth Dance Program has reached over 700 children through assemblies at these same schools. More information about the DEA Youth Dance Program is available at www.deaeducationalfoundation.org.
The 360 Strategy has also provided $25,000 in funding for the Kensington Storefront, an initiative of the Porch Light program, a collaboration between Mural Arts Philadelphia and the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services. The Kensington Storefront is a neighborhood hub for visiting artists, neighbors, and area organizations helping Kensington residents learn how to marshal their resources and find pathways to recovery. More information about Mural Arts, Porch Light, and the Kensington Storefront is available at www.muralarts.org.
"We're so grateful to the DEA for understanding the role that art can play in healing a community," said Jane Golden, Executive Director of Mural Arts Philadelphia. "These important funds will go toward the creation of a landmark mural in Kensington that will be a beacon of hope and resilience for all who pass by."
In addition, the 360 Strategy has provided free training programs for community organizers in the Kensington area from the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of (www.cadca.org) and the Partnership for Drug-Free (www.drugfree.org).
For students, parents, and teachers, the DEA and Discovery Education have partnered together to offer a free, STEM-based education tool about the science behind substance use disorder called Operation Prevention. This program, which is available at www.operationprevention.com, offers virtual resources for parents and educators for grades K-12 in both English and Spanish.
For more information about the DEA’s 360 Strategy program, please contact DEA Public Information Officer/Supervisory Special Agent Patrick J. Trainor at (215) 852-8740 or patrick.j.trainor@usdoj.gov.
