Bridging Philly

Youth and young adults in Philadelphia can learn about career options and job skills while getting paid through C2L-PHL ’s youth work programs, run by JEVS Human Services . Summer and school year job opportunities range from the medical field to government, even working with horses and people with disabilities at Pegasus Therapeutic Riding Academy . Racquel Williams talks with representatives from...

At 55-years-old, Marie-Monique Marthol made a life-changing decision to change careers. She learned carpentry through Rebuild ’s Workforce Development Program, where participants learn trade skills while revitalizing Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. Marie-Monique joins host Racquel Williams to talk about her experience. We also hear from Rebuild’s Director of Workforce Development, Tiffany Smith, abo...

We’ve seen a surge of people facing food insecurity since pandemic relief ended, and the numbers have not gone back down. It’s a particular issue in Philadelphia, where about 22% of people live in poverty - twice the national average. Share Food Program is the city’s leading hunger relief organization. Their executive director, George Matysik, and deputy chief program officer, Cat Bartoli, join ho...

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is on tour! Their “Beloved Community” tour is stopping in towns across the state to host open discussions about civil rights issues in each community. Racquel Williams speaks with Executive Director Chad Dion Lassiter to understand the purpose of this tour, the important work PHRC does, and how to reach out if you’re having an issue with any kind of prej...

When COVID-19 hit, Dr. Ala Stanford stepped up to help Philadelphians get access to information, testing, care, and later, vaccines. She founded the Black Doctors Consortium, and after her work gained national media attention, President Biden appointed her Regional Director of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Now, Dr. Stanford has written a book, “Take Care of Them Like My Own” , co...

While many schools have faced fights over book bans and how they teach about racism, Friends Select School in Philadelphia is taking an actively anti-racist approach to education. As a Quaker school, they follow the same philosophies that the Quakers who fought in the abolitionist movement did, and they’re able to incorporate social justice into their curriculum, staff training, and how they inter...

The Focus on Fathers parenting education program shows new fathers how to have positive relationships with their kids. The “fathers to the fathers” try to fill in the gaps for men raised without a strong father figure in their lives, through child development education, job readiness, and mental health awareness, with remote and in-person classes. -- This interview originally ran on Nov 19, 2023....

Navigating the mental health care system is a challenge for the most experienced of patients, but what about people looking to see a therapist for the first time? Where do you start? Do you go to someone who matches your demographic? Is telehealth a good option? Host Racquel Williams asks these questions and more with our panel of therapists.  Then on Shara in the City, Shara Dae Howard spends som...

Pennsylvania’s funding for after-school care ends when children turn 13, and many parents are concerned about where their teens can go after school and in the summer. Caring People Alliance runs a teen program and recently opened a new center at their South Philadelphia Boys & Girls Club where teens can go to get a meal, play basketball, make music and art, and have a safe space to talk and le...

We’ve seen tremendous progress in diagnosing and treating cancer, but not all people have benefited from that progress equally. The American Association for Cancer Research recently released their 2024 Cancer Disparities Progress Report , which highlights gaps in diagnoses, treatment, and outcomes for people in marginalized groups. What is being done to close those gaps? We talk with Mitch Stoller...

The experience of traveling to a different part of the world can be life-changing, but many people don’t get that opportunity because of the cost. A new initiative called Invest in Human Potential aims to take five young Black men from Philadelphia on a two-week trip to Sardinia, Italy, and empower them with the skills to become social justice warriors over the course of a year-long fellowship. Ra...

A Philadelphia performing arts organization is celebrating Juneteenth with a twist on an old tradition: the house party. Running June 20 - 22, Intercultural Journeys ’ “The Re-Emancipation of Social Dance” is an interactive party-performance through five “living rooms”, inviting you to reclaim the freedom of dance. We talk with the show’s curator and former Philadelphia Poet Laureate, Yolanda Wish...

More than 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the U.S. have experienced rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Women Against Abuse aims to help domestic violence victims of all genders by providing shelters, counseling, legal services, and safety planning. Executive Director Joanna Otero-Cruz joins us along with board member Jamie Colleen Miller, who shares her o...

Author Susanne Munn of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, says her neurodivergent son had a hard time fitting in. She wrote a poem to help him celebrate himself, and 10 years later, she’s releasing that poem as a children’s book with the help of her friend and illustrator, Amy Towers. Susanne and Amy tell us about “The Great Shape Debate” . Plus Kim Wheeler Poitevien, MSW, LCSW, owner of Amel Counseling , j...

Tahirah Austin-Muhammad was diagnosed with sickle cell disease when she was six years old. Throughout her life, she has dealt with pain and organ failures - she’s currently on the waiting list for a kidney transplant, living on 7% kidney function. Despite that, she is raising a daughter and has helped found Crescent Foundation to provide education and resources to others living with sickle cell di...

For many teens and tweens, social media is everything. It’s how they connect with friends and with the broader world - but there are a lot of dangers online. How can parents keep their kids safe from things like predators and bullying on the internet? PA State Representative Brian Munroe worked with three teenagers to write a bill that just passed the House , aiming to help protect kids online. He...

The government must provide attorneys for defendants who can’t afford to hire one. Until last year, funding for those public defenders in Pennsylvania came entirely from the counties. Now, the state has set a $7.5 million budget to fund indigent defense, but public defenders’ offices are still underfunded and their staff is overworked. We speak with the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania...

2024 KYW GameChanger Hillary Do created the non-profit BOLT (Build Our Lives Together) to support community grassroots organizations with tools, grants and knowledge to bring about change. She introduces us to Cleopatra Robinson of A Home from Shana Foundation, who is working to lower the rate of Black maternal mortality in Philadelphia, and Ron Toles of Ordinarie Heroes, who works with BIPOC yout...

For fifty years, Gift of Life Donor Program has helped organ and tissue recipients off the transplant wait list with their growing donation network. Five years after North Philly rapper and hip-hop recording artist Freeway received a kidney, he's raising awareness about routine physicals and organ donation with his music and Freedom Thinkers Academy. Then, Shara Dae Howard takes a ride-along at Be...

Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Al Schmidt clears up myths and realities of voting, including automatic voter registration, mail-in voting, and protections for voters and election workers. Then, Barnes Foundation’s assistant curator Corrinne Chong leads a tour of the 20th-century artist who inspired commercial art at the exhibit “Alexey Brodovitch: Astonish Me.”

As childcare wait lists grow, many busy families are opening their homes to a young person from another country as an affordable care alternative. Cultural Care Au Pair’s Natalie Jordan describes their multi-step screening process and cultural exchange benefits. Then, the number of people roller skating has increased since the pandemic, and Great On Skates’ co-founder India Bernadino discusses acc...

How can Pennsylvania public school students who live in a lower-income school district receive an equitable and adequate education like their affluent counterparts? Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes and education advocate Priyanka Reyes-Kaura discuss how state legislators must work with Governor Shapiro and his budget proposal to invest in our communities.   Then, we hear why regulars and...

Former fashion editor Cheryl Ann Wadlington has been mentoring urban girls to rise above their circumstances to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty for 20 years at Evoluer House with workforce, professional and personal development programs. Then, engineer Patrice Banks leads a tour of her Girls Auto Clinic in Upper Darby – an auto repair service - that caters to women where she can get a...

Marian Anderson Hall will soon be the home of the Philadelphia Orchestra. President and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Matias Tarnopolsky, explains how updating the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall should reflect the diversity and demographics of Philadelphia. Then, a tour of the repair and restoration of the Marian Anderson Museum and Historical Society with its CEO, Jillian Pat...

PA Youth Votes’ Angelique Hinton, Kamryn Davis and a high school senior explain how they engage future leaders with education and events programming to connect the dots between the issues they care about, voting, and holding elected officials accountable. Then, artists and curators lead a tour of the collective public art initiative, “Legacy Reclaimed: A 7th Ward Tribute,” encompassing the blocks...