Philadelphia-Area Philanthropic Collaborative Launches “Vision Philadelphia” ahead of Municipal Primary Election

A group of nine philanthropic organizations released the first two papers of an on-going series of key recommendations for the next Philadelphia mayor and city leadership.

Philadelphia, PA – Today, a group of nine philanthropic organizations launched Vision Philadelphia, an on-going series that explores promising solutions to improve city services and the quality of life of all Philadelphians. Unified behind a desire for a brighter future, these philanthropic organizations have drawn on their collective experience and insight from community partners to identify key issue areas for the city’s next mayor. The papers are authored by local and national experts and practitioners, providing recommendations and guides around these issues.

“The upcoming changes in mayoral leadership and city council represent an important opportunity for the city to realize a new vision for Philadelphia,” says Shawn McCaney, Executive Director of the William Penn Foundation. “The William Penn Foundation is proud to partner with a committed group of philanthropic organizations to explore and elevate promising solutions to improve city services and quality of life for all Philadelphians.”

The first two papers were released today covering the city’s $1 billion behavioral health infrastructure and the persistent vacancy challenge in the public sector workforce:

Priorities for Improving Philadelphia’s Behavioral Health Infrastructure by Debra A. Pinals, MD, Ruth S. Shim, MD, MPH—Philadelphians have significant behavioral health needs but the city’s behavioral health infrastructure is not built to provide broad access to high quality care. This paper identifies three key areas of focus for the next administration, including youth mental health, the social determinants of mental health, and accountability for both providers and payers.

Improving Quality of Life by Strengthening Philadelphia’s Public Sector Workforce by Joshua Franzel, PhD and Marwan Kreidie—Having a strong public workforce is essential for delivering the public services that help determine quality of life. But it’s hard to provide those services if a city can’t attract and retain a strong workforce. A number of factors, including economic shifts caused by the pandemic, have made public sector employment less attractive. This paper looks at the factors, both national and local, that have brought us to this point and what can be done about it.

More papers will be released over the course of the year to spark dialogue among candidates and the broader Philadelphia community. To read the first two papers and for ongoing updates, visit: www.visionphiladelphia.org.

About Vision Philadelphia
Vision Philadelphia is a collaborative of Philadelphia-based philanthropic organizations committed to advancing promising solutions to improve city services and quality of life for all Philadelphians.

Vision Philadelphia is supported in part by The Barra Foundation, Neubauer Family Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Philadelphia Foundation, Regional Foundation, Scattergood Foundation, Stoneleigh Foundation, William Penn Foundation, and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the organizations. As nonpartisan organizations, they do not grant permission for reprints, links, citations, or other uses of these papers in any way that suggests that the participating entities endorse a candidate, party, product, or business.

For press inquires, contact:

Caitlin O’Brien, cobrien@scattergoodfoundation.org