Letter to the Editor: Human Frailty

I am grateful that The Inquirer added this tragic lack of insight to their coverage.

To the Editor:

As I read about the effort by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker to rid Kensington of an encampment, I shook my head in disbelief. Where was the necessary planning and demonstrated humanity as the lives of terrified human beings were uprooted?

City officials had assured all that this action would be led by outreach teams, but as police cleared two blocks, no social service workers were on hand to support and direct those frightened and confused, scattered and clueless about where to go. Chief Public Safety Director Adam Geer called the Kensington dismantling "a good day:' But for whom? Surely not those in the encampment, forced to flee on foot, with their meager rain-soaked belongings, not knowing where.

 A neighbor, John Cacciola, was quoted as saying he'd been "sold a false bill of goods:' As reported by The Inquirer, Cacciola had been assured that those in outdoor encampments would be moved to treatment facilities and shelters. Instead, they were pushed into residential streets such as his, with no social workers available for direction. Does this ill-planned action remind you of our mayor's refusal to respect the endorsement of professionals whose lives are devoted to supporting hope and direction for substance users? They were overwhelmingly united in their endorsement of overdose prevention centers, where trained staff can oversee those using drugs - which has been shown to decrease overdose fatalities - and subsequently lead those living with addiction to treatment.

Could Mayor Parker's disregard for human frailty reveal her Achilles' heel: Does she see herself as always right about everything, requiring no input from others whose experience can contribute to the success of her office?

SaraKay Smullens
Philadelphia

Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 14, 2014