Philadelphia
Safe and Sound to close doors
By Christie L. Chicoine
CS&T Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Safe and Sound — the non-profit
organization that, through a contract with the city, receives funds to
manage and subcontract Beacon and other after-school programs —
is closing its doors June 30.
“We hope that any kind of elimination of Philadelphia Safe and Sound
operations doesn’t negatively impact the pool of funding available
for after-school programming for children and their families,” said
Msgr. Joseph A. Tracy, Secretary for Catholic Human Services, under which
the archdiocesan Beacon and other after-school programs operate.
“While it’s unfortunate what happened with Philadelphia Safe
and Sound, it’s also unfortunate that families got caught in the
middle of a political battle,” Msgr. Tracy said.
“We look forward to continuing to, hopefully, provide the service,
and to making a difference in Philadelphia’s most distressed neighborhoods,”
he added.
The Philadelphia Archdiocese joined the Beacon program in 2006. Through
the Beacons and other after-school programs, parish schoolhouse doors
remain open after school hours in many of Philadelphia’s dangerous
and destitute neighborhoods, affording children a place to play and learn,
and a safe haven from drug-pushers and street violence.
In the Philadelphia Archdiocese, the Beacon program has two components:
an after-school program for elementary and middle school students, and
another program for high school students in the evening and on weekends.
Ernest E. Jones, Safe and Sound’s board chairman, said: “We’re
going to do what we can to make sure there are no disruptions at all in
the provision of services.”
Added Jones: “It’s a sad day. Every organization has a life.
We’ve lived ours. We wish the city and the mayor the best in moving
forward.”
On Feb. 1, it was announced that 10 of city’s 40 Beacon sites —
including five operated by the Archdiocese — were slated to close
at the beginning of the following month because of Safe and Sound budget
problems. Those problems were blamed on discrepancies in funds allocated
by former and current city administrations.
A grassroots effort to keep the Beacons and other after-school programs
open followed the announcement.
On Feb. 19, the schools received a reprieve from Mayor Michael Nutter.
Money for the threatened programs, he said, would be found in the budget
of Philadelphia Safe and Sound — particularly in its administrative
budget. He said his administration would look for additional funds in
the city’s budget.
Until February, the Archdiocese had a total of 10 Beacon schools. Because
funding for the night and weekend programs was cut substantially from
four of the 10 sites, the Archdiocese now has six Beacon schools. Programs
at the other four sites are limited to after-school activities.
In a letter to the mayor, Jones called the decision to close “extremely
painful,” and explained that “given the current environment,
the board of directors felt it was the only real option available to the
organization.”
In the same letter, Jones expressed PSS’ commitment to work with
the administration to “ensure a smooth transition to the new intermediary.”
For more information about the archdiocesan Beacon program, call (215)
587-3590.
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine can be reached at (215)
587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.