COUNCILMEMBER QUETCY LOZADA APPLAUDS ADMINISTRATION AT PRESS CONFERENCE OPENING WARMING CENTERS THROUGHOUT THE CITY

On Tuesday, January 7, 2025, the Office of Homeless Services, in partnership with the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department, the Free Library of Philadelphia, and Project HOME, launched the City's Warming Center Initiative. The initiative ensures a warming center will be available in every Council District and city neighborhood, so no Philadelphian is left out in the cold during a Code Blue or Snow Emergency declaration. At a press conference at the Juniata Older Adult Center, officials provided information about the initiative and its progress at one of the warming center locations.

Councilmember Quetcy Lozada (7^th District), who represents the area where the press conference was held, thanked the Mayor and her administration for launching this new initiative and spoke on the importance these centers.

"The unhoused population in the 7th Council District is in desperate need of these centers and I'm grateful to community partners Impact Services, Susan Sheehan from Angels in Motion, Roz Picardo from Operation Save Our City, and the other organizations on the ground for advocating for the opening of these shelters," she said.

Lozada, who represents the neighborhood of Kensington-a neighborhood with a transient homeless population estimated to be around 700 individuals, has worked with her colleagues in Council to connect people to treatment, long-term care and housing. She noted that these centers will have a positive effect on all residents and reduce the risk of death and injury caused by open fires.

"We have seen unhoused individuals resort to unsafe makeshift heating methods like campfires in trash bins on the street and in abandoned buildings, posing significant risks of massive fires that endanger lives, homes, and public infrastructure," said Councilmember Lozada.

The Councilmember has made improving the quality of life of residents a top priority and sees efforts to improving the lives of unhoused residents as a key toward holistic improvements to the communities that she represents.

"When we invest in warming centers, we affirm our values of compassion and responsibility while making our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Through these centers, we are assuring that our community is one where no one is left out in the cold, and where safety and dignity are upheld for all," she said.