A town hall meeting was held in Frankford Tuesday night at St. Joachims in the parish hall. You will find many opinions from those in attendance at to the success of the meeting. Some folks were at the meeting with the belief that it was to discuss the conversion of the old Frankford Day Nursery into another half way house. This was not the case and that misunderstanding should fall on the organizers of the meeting.
The meeting appeared to have been hastily organized but that impression may have come from incorrect or little information available before hand. However the outcome of the meeting was an acknowledgment by councilperson Maria Quinonez-Sanchez that yes Frankford has a serious problem and it is going to take some work to fix it.
Sounds like a commitment to me. There is no magic wand that will solve the kind of problem we have in Frankford. The decision to actually adddress it will do for me. Drugs are a part of modern life and several folks at the meeting spoke out that we are not against the services being offered to the poor souls hooked on drugs. We are opposed to being the main location for all these services. That has to end.
Next we need to enforce the existing laws and regulations to shut down those services that are not run properly. And finally we have to go after those flop houses that exploit these folks, take their money and do nothing for them. They are sucking the sould out of the community and deserve to be run out of town.
How can you help? Report every flop house you know to the councilperson’s office and let them find out if they are licensed. 215-686-3448 or 3449.
Now thanks to Maria Quinones-Sanchez and Tony Payton. Also, as I was listening to the tape tonight I think I heard that a representative from Senator Specter’s office was in attendance. If so, thanks Arlen. If I missed anybody, let me know pols.
