When we discuss housing and rent affordability in Philadelphia, when we discuss the need to secure and extend public benefits, when we discuss wage theft — we must include the AAPI community in our campaigns, says guest columnist Kee Tobar.

Last year, the Office of Violence Prevention injected almost $1 million into community groups working on gun violence. How those groups have pivoted, and the resonances with the 1918 pandemic are the focus of this long read.

"The expanded child tax credit will benefit almost all families, and it will work the way benefits currently work for the wealthy," says guest columnist Wendy Bach.

Analysis links income inequality with increased cost burdens, rather than how fast housing prices rise, says guest columnist Clark Merrefield.

CWF will focus its efforts in North Philadelphia and partner with three other organizations to offer financial services.

"We do two things really well — early childhood education and housing, so our focus now is on building on those services and figuring out how we can do things even better," says Otis Bullock.

Middle class and working class workers have born the brunt of the pandemic — the illness, the economic disruption, the layoffs and the job closings.

CEO Voffee Jabateh says the $1 million grant from Poverty Action Fund is a good start, but the city needs to take small nonprofits more seriously.

"There seem to be a growing consensus that cash is the best tool in the fight against poverty. But is it?" asks guest columnist Heath Henderson.

The organizations hope to create “a place-based, collective service delivery model” to create the ultimate in coordination — one-stop shopping to tackle poverty.