Immigration: Philadelphia Embraces Refugee Resettlement
In response to President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to end the country’s refugee resettlement program shortly after taking office, Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney signed an open letter requesting President Barack Obama and his administration to continue to protect immigrants, including those whose home countries are too unsafe to return to. In compliance with Governor Tom Wolf’s statement in 2015 […]
South Philadelphia: Refugee Resettlement Contributes To Diverse History
The Philadelphia non-profit Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition (SEAMAAC) was bustling with activity in the afternoon hours of Nov. 7. Men and women with origins spanning from Vietnam and Laos, to Indonesia and Burma, cold-called potential voters with advice on where to find their polling location, tactics on how to identify voter intimidation and […]
Center City: Immigrant, Refugee Service Program Provides Support for Victims of Torture
ABOVE: Gretchen Shanfeld (left), director of Health and Wellness at the Nationalities Service Center, and Cathy Jeong stand in front of a tapestry created by 30 immigrants from Bhutan, a country in the Himalayan Mountains. The tapestry, which is about 10 feet long, details some of the country’s culture and was made in a group-art-therapy program […]
South Philadelphia: Seeking Answers and Resolution to Refugee Mental Health
A growing population of Southeast Asian refugees comes with an exciting new culture to learn from, along with serious health needs that require specific attention. Those who lived or immigrated during times of unrest, like the Vietnam War era or the rule of the Khmer Rouge, arrived with specific mental health needs that not all […]
Spruce Hill: African Immigrants Struggle to Navigate City’s Healthcare System
An immigration boom in 2000 helped turn the Baltimore Avenue corridor into a hub for African businesses. Spruce Hill has dozens of restaurants while Woodland and Chester avenues are peppered with African and Caribbean grocery stores. While no exact census data exists, in Philadelphia, the four largest communities are in order Nigerian, Liberian, Ghanaian and […]
Manayunk: Globetrotting Photographer
After 40 years of selling art, Bruce Kravetz took up photography. From refugees in Ethiopia and Palestine to tribes in Papua New Guinea, he has been documenting the darker side of life since 2005. Kravetz occasionally drives homeless people to his studio at 123 Leverington Ave. for photo shoots. “I meet the homeless, I get […]