New Report: Shared Prosperity Philadelphia

Posted by on August 12, 2013

City launches new anti-poverty strategy

Mayor Michael A. Nutter and Eva Gladstein, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity (CEO), have announced the City of Philadelphia’s new, comprehensive anti-poverty strategy, Shared Prosperity Philadelphia, which will bring together governmental, private and philanthropic agencies already working to reduce poverty across the City to better coordinate and expand efforts and improve progress tracking methods.

“Poverty is a persistent and devastating problem in Philadelphia.  It affects children, families and seniors and limits the potential of our great city’s economy, communities and thousands of citizens,” said Mayor Nutter.  “Shared Prosperity Philadelphia is a critical first step in creating a new, holistic approach to understanding, confronting and reducing the effects of poverty and creating a more thriving, prosperous Philadelphia for every citizen.”

Shared Prosperity Philadelphia focuses on five strategic goal areas that aim to:
* Focus job creation and workforce development efforts on adults with the greatest barriers to employment;
* Expand access to public benefits and essential services;
* Ensure children enter school prepared and expand year-round learning opportunities;
* Increase housing security and affordability; and
* Strengthen economic security and asset building.

The CEO, established through Executive Order by Mayor Nutter in January, will serve as the coordinating agency.  It succeeds the former Mayor’s Office of Community Services. It will support collaboration, coordination and communication among partner agencies.

“We believe in collective impact: bringing together all our anti-poverty efforts with a common agenda, shared measurement of our strategies and continuous communication. Harnessing the energy of our many partner organizations and experts will multiply our effectiveness. It will not only maximize the impact of every anti-poverty dollar we now have but could inspire more investment and commitment from government and other sources,” said Gladstein.  “Shared Prosperity Philadelphia is a call for all of us to come together to fight poverty and to increase opportunities for all of our citizens.”

The CEO led the data gathering process and analysis to create Shared Prosperity Philadelphia.  The process included: meetings, focus groups, surveys, and more than 200 interviews with anti-poverty experts from non-profits, academia, philanthropic foundations and government, as well as providers and consumers of anti-poverty services.

To read the full Shared Prosperity Philadelphia report, go here.

http://www.sharedprosperityphila.org/