Bridging Philly

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 learn. We speak with Branon Gilmore, VP of CPA’s Boys & Girls Club Movement, Jewel Felder-James, Director of Teen Programming, and Alphonso Cobbs, a participant in the teen program. And on Shara in the City, Shara Dae Howard re-discovers the joy of play at the historic Smith Memorial Playground. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, Chief Philanthropic Officer and Vice President of Development for the AACR, and Dr. Camille Ragin, a professor and Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Fox Chase Cancer Center and a member of the steering committee for the AACR’s report. And on Shara in the City, we get ready for the first year of Olympic breakdancing by visiting Philly’s longest-running hip-hop and breakdancing event, The Gathering at The Rotunda. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Racquel Williams talks with the director, Amir Joshua Palmer, about what the fellowship will involve and what it will take to get it off the ground. Learn more about how you can support the fellowship at investinhumanpotential.com. And on Shara in the City, Shara Dae Howard discovers a hidden sanctuary in West Philly to learn about Black birding. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Wisher, and Intercultural Journeys' Executive Director, Carly Rapaport-Stein, about this performance and how Black Americans throughout history have built community through dance. Learn more, get tickets, and listen to their podcast on the history of social dance at reemancipatedance.org. And on Shara in the City, Shara Dae Howard hops on the El to try to catch a glimpse of all 50 murals in Steve Powers’ “A Love Letter For You” series in West Philly.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 own story of escaping an abusive relationship with help from Women Against Abuse. If you are facing domestic violence and need help, call their hotline at 1-866-723-3014 or visit their website for more resources. And on Shara in the City, we kick off Pride Month at The Rose Garden exhibit by local artist John Jarboe at The Fabric Workshop and Museum - an immersive exploration of her gender journey. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, joins us to expand on ways to help kids - and adults - stop comparing themselves to others and love who they are. And on Shara in the City, local musicians re-create the iconic “A Great Day in Harlem” photo, with a Philly twist. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 disease. She joins us along with her physician, Dr. Safiyya Shabazz. And on Shara in the City, Shara Dae Howard learns double dutch with Majestic Jumpers. Learn more about how to find and support Black physicians in the Philadelphia area from The Medical Society of Eastern Pennsylvania. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 joins us along with Dr. Desmond Upton Patton, a University of Pennsylvania professor and the director of SAFELab, a research initiative focused on how youth of color navigate violence online. And on Shara in the City, we visit one of the oldest trees in Philadelphia - a treasure that some in the Germantown neighborhood are fighting to save. For more, read Dr. Patton’s Newsweek op-ed on the links between social media and gun violence. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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’s Executive Director Sara E. Jacobson, Vice President Christopher Welsh, and Chief Defender Keisha Hudson about inequities in the legal system and how a lack of funding can impact trial outcomes. And on Shara in the City, we take a tour of the hidden artistic gems inside The Curtis building in Old City. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 youth in Hunting Park. Then, the hidden history behind the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Central Branch, which includes Charles Dickens’ stuffed pet bird, Grip - widely thought to have inspired Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, “The Raven.” The library also has the only handwritten copy of the poem, which is part of its rare book collection. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices