Sarah Colton and her colleague greet a homeless woman near Allegheny Station in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia.
Photo: Radio Canada / Andréane Williams
Sarah Colton squats on the sidewalk telling two young women in front of the Allegheny subway station in Philadelphia about a girls’ night out at a homeless shelter.
Dozens of people are circling around with syringes in their hands. Some consume on the street. Others wander bent over and half unconscious in front of the station entrance. Used syringes contaminate the sidewalk.
Honey, if you can, could you cross the red line so that you are off the SEPTA site? “I don’t want the police to come and chase you,” Sarah Colton gently asks another young woman sitting on the sidewalk.
Above them, the subway rolls on the rails of the elevated railway that covers kilometers of the district’s main street.
According to Bill McKinney of the New Kensington Community Development Corporation, building the subway on elevated tracks had a negative impact on the Kensington Borough’s economy.
Photo: Radio Canada / Andréane Williams
We are located in the neighborhood of Kensington, one of the poorest places in Philadelphia, which is considered to be one of the largest open-air drug markets in the United States.
Sarah Colton, a playful blonde with a nasal voice, is one of the social workers hired by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) to keep homeless people and drug users off the Philadelphia subway.
Sarah Colton rides the Philadelphia subway almost every day. Many people use drugs there and regularly fall on the rails when intoxicated.
Photo: Radio Canada / Andréane Williams
She spends her days in subway cars and near train stations helping vulnerable populations and directing them to resources like emergency shelters and detox centers.
It can be as simple as sending them somewhere to find food, says Sarah Colton. Sometimes she even accompanies them personally to aid centers.
The Allegheny subway station in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia is the meeting place for many homeless people.
Photo: Radio Canada / Andréane Williams
“It’s unbelievable because there used to be a line of people going to the other corner. They drugged, slept, camped, changed, and relieved themselves. »
– A quote from Sarah Colton, social worker
“But thanks to our work, we managed to liberate this street corner,” she said, pointing to one of the entrances to the Allegheny subway station.
Explosion of the problem during the pandemic
The presence of homeless people on the subway increases feelings of insecurity, although they are often the first victims of violence, according to SEPTA police.
Photo: Radio Canada / Andréane Williams
SEPTA is the fifth largest transit agency in the United States. Before the pandemic, it carried almost a million people a day.
But with the health crisis, that number has declined. In March and April 2021, the number of passengers fell by around 70%.
At the same time, more and more people in distress are taking shelter and looking for drugs on the subway.
Somerset Tube station in Kensington was closed for two weeks during the pandemic to undergo refurbishment.
Photo: Radio Canada / Andréane Williams
The number of violent incidents is also increasing. Five murders were committed in the SEPTA network in 2020, four more than in 2019. The number of violent assaults increased from 46 in 2019 to 111 in 2022 and six rapes were recorded between 2020 and 2022.
The situation in Kensington has deteriorated so much that in March 2021 SEPTA decided to close one of the borough’s tube stations. The decision has angered local residents, many of whom rely on public transport to get around.
SEPTA stated at the time that the station needed remediation due to the accumulation of syringes, trash and human excrement. The shipping company had paid more than a million dollars for the repair and cleaning.
But that wasn’t enough to reassure residents, who took to the streets to denounce the city’s chronic disinvestment in its community and the decay of the subway.
Two weeks later, SEPTA finally reopened the station.
Less muscle, more help
At that point, the transport company decided to change its strategy to secure its transport network.
The following month, the agency launched the SCOPE program, which includes deploying teams of social workers like Sarah Colton in the city’s subway and red-light districts.
We can no longer say that we are just a transport company. “We need to change our business model and take a compassionate approach,” says program director Kenneth Divers, who was once homeless and has several family members struggling with addiction.
Kenneth Divers created SEPTA’s SCOPE program.
Photo: Radio Canada / Andréane Williams
He estimates that in 2022 more than 560 homeless people will have found shelter in the SEPTA transit system. He claims he has managed to reduce their numbers by 35% thanks to his program.
Many of them were taken to shelters and temporary shelters, he explains.
In addition to its teams on the ground, the agency adds that it has invested more than $1 million in the Hub of Hope homeless support center. She also spent $25,000 this winter to reserve 500 beds in city shelters for the homeless displaced by SEPTA teams.
A man eats a sandwich while holding a syringe in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia.
Photo: Radio Canada / Maxime Beauchemin
“We understood that the police approach is not the right solution to address the problem of homelessness in the city. »
– A quote from SEPTA Police Commissioner Cheuck Lawson
Unlike social workers, police officers don’t have the training or the right tools, he explains.
Innovate to survive
This change in approach comes as many cities across North America are facing increasing public transit violence and a significant drop in revenue due to the pandemic.
So for some, like the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), whose coffers have run dry during the pandemic, getting passengers to return is a matter of survival.
One of the entrances to the Allegheny subway station in Philadelphia.
Photo: Radio Canada / Andréane Williams
Last year, a spate of violent crime on the city’s public transport made headlines and spread fear among the population. Last year a young woman died after being burned at a bus stop. A teenager was recently stabbed in a subway station.
“We understand that this scares people,” says CTT spokesman Stuart Green.
Encouraging passengers to return is therefore crucial for the transport company, whose revenue largely depends on ticket sales.
“We need the passengers who are coming back. »
– A quote from Stuart Green, CTT spokesman
Numerous violent incidents on Toronto’s public transport system have rocked residents in recent years. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio Canada
The transport company was inspired by the SEPTA strategy.
Since May, it has deployed four social workers from the community group LOFT Community Services to its network almost every day to reach out to the homeless and reduce safety concerns.
Things have changed in recent years. “We face complex issues at TTC related to homelessness, mental health and addiction issues,” said TTC spokesman Stuart Green.
The project is still in its infancy, but the CTT is optimistic.
We’ve spoken to many agencies in North America and Canada and they’re all facing the same issues. “What we do is very similar to what Philadelphia does,” says Stuart Green.
A strategy that has its limits
In Philadelphia, however, SEPTA’s strategy is not unanimous. For Thomas Frey, a plumber and road worker who patrols Philadelphia’s streets and subway stations several nights a week, the transit company’s efforts are far from enough.
With The Everywhere Project, he distributes hundreds of meals to the city’s homeless every week.
After a serious accident, Thomas Frey developed an addiction to opioids, then to heroin. He has since recovered and regularly visits homeless people taking shelter on the Philadelphia subway.
Photo: Radio Canada / Andréane Williams
That evening he visits a dozen people who have taken refuge in a downtown subway station. It’s around 1:30 in the morning and some of them are sleeping under blankets near the payment terminals.
I’ve seen a hundred people sleep here in winter. […] They come here to protect themselves from the elements and to sleep. It can also get pretty intense. They are attacked and blamed for it, but bear no responsibility. These are groups of young people who [causent des problèmes]says Thomas Frey.
When we ask him what he thinks of SEPTA’s new strategy, Thomas Frey hesitates.
“Have you ever seen the SEPTA social workers here?” he asks two homeless people sitting on the floor.
The two men don’t seem to understand what Thomas is talking about.
The Philadelphia Metro runs through the Kensington neighborhood near a park nicknamed “Needle Park” because of the drug use and trafficking that takes place there.
Photo: Radio Canada / Maxime Beauchemin
“I don’t remember seeing them either,” says the road worker. He says the organization he works with, The Everywhere Project, is at the forefront of the problem and wonders why SEPTA has not consulted him since the SCOPE program was founded.
In his opinion, the key to the problem lies in the construction of affordable housing.
“Let’s start with accommodating people, then you will have a clean subway!” »
– A quote from Thomas Frey, Food Coordinator, The Everywhere Project
Our mission is not to eradicate homelessness
Outside SEPTA’s downtown offices, Kenneth Divers confirms that his teams average 4,000 interactions per month with vulnerable populations. However, he recognizes the limits of his program.
He explains that he runs the program alone, with the help of an administrative assistant and an intern, and acknowledges that he needs to work better with community organizations.
The Kensington neighborhood is one of the poorest in Philadelphia and is considered one of the largest open-air drug markets in the United States.
Photo: Radio Canada / Andréane Williams
He would also like to have 14 teams of two social workers each, but staff shortages often force him to be satisfied with six teams. On the day of our meeting, only three teams were in action.
A homeless man sleeps outside a subway station in Kensington, Philadelphia.
Photo: Radio Canada / Andréane Williams
Kenneth Divers also notes that SEPTA’s mission is not to end homelessness, but to ensure their network is secure.
If homeless service providers don’t have a solution to homelessness, how can we expect a transportation company to find a solution? It’s not our responsibility, he adds.
“Philadelphia’s public transit situation reflects the city’s social issues,” said Bill McKinney, executive director of New Kensington Community Development Corporation.
Photo: Radio Canada / Maxime Beauchemin
One corner at a time
Back in Kensington, Bill McKinney, general manager of the community organization New Kensington Community Development Corporation, agrees.
A bin for the disposal of used syringes outside a tube station in the Kensington Borough.
Photo: Radio Canada / Andréane Williams
SEPTA cannot solve Philadelphia’s social problems, he says.
I’m grateful that they’re trying different things, but I don’t think many people would say that they really achieved their goal. […] Is it comfortable to ride the subway? No! he adds.
Sarah Colton gets her naloxone from a homeless shelter in Kensington, where overdoses are common.
Photo: Radio Canada
Sarah Colton is focused on her achievements. She recently managed to unblock one of the entrances to the Allegheny train station, but the drug trade has only moved to an access door directly opposite.
It’s the new location that’s causing problems, she said, pointing to the subway entrance a few dozen yards away.
As we speak, a young woman interrupts us to greet the social worker.
Thank you for everything you do! she throws him on and hugs Sarah Colton.
I approached her here and helped her get into rehab. She has a job now. “It’s nice to see that she’s recovered,” says the social worker, her throat tight.
A small win for Sarah Colton who knows the fight is far from over.