Behavioral Health Speaker Panel featuring Mackenzie Phillips
February 13, 2020

We are a nation in crisis. Drug overdoses claimed 72,000 lives in 2017. Suicide rates continue to climb. Life expectancy is on target to drop for a third straight year. We must look past the numbers and understand this crisis is about people, our people. Access to medical treatment. Opportunities for mental health services. Offering community stakeholders engagement and ownership in their health related care. What is the financial key to meet these necessary and basic community needs? APM’s goal is to make that personal connection between families and services; provide isolated elderly with community, aid single parent households, all with the goal to stabilize families. Our approach is to communicate, educate, and empower. This in-depth discussion brings together professionals from health care and academia to public policy and community stakeholders to explore these issues and consider solutions.

Early Childhood Education in the Age of COVID featuring Sonia Manzano
October 14, 2020

The positive impact of early childhood education on child development has been proven. One of the best indicators of whether a child could go to college is the simple act of a parent reading to a child. Added to this is the belief that when a family is provided the tools and resources to support the child on an early educational journey, that family also learns and grows. Parental involvement can pave the way to a greater family stability and an increased interest in education. How has Covid-19 changed this dynamic? How can our community continue to maximize the interest in education and provide needed support resulting in benefits for the entire family? Early intervention in childhood development is an effective tool in keeping a child on the best path forward. How do we strengthen those interventions? This speaker panel will identify the best tools and resources as APM continues to invest in children and in their families.

Community and Economic Development Speaker Panel featuring John Quinones
November 10, 2020

Non-profit organizations throughout Philadelphia have worked for decades to create homeownership, affordable rentals, and economic opportunities for low-income residents. This has enabled thousands to climb out of poverty and increase individual wealth, while the wealth and attractiveness of the community also increases. As the community prospers, more affluent residents move in and the area becomes “gentrified.” Property taxes and rents increase, thereby leading to potential displacement for long-time residents. This potential displacement has only been exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis with its impacts on the economy and housing stability. Class, racial, and ethnic differences between long-time and newer residents generate distrust and lead to increased tensions. How can these tensions be addressed? How has gentrification exacerbated racial inequities in property ownership, and what can be done to address those inequities? The need for quality, affordable housing, and a pathway to homeownership and wealth building is evident. How can we respond? We are all too familiar with the lack of affordability in San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, New York and Chicago and yet we continue to keep making the same mistakes.

Childhood Trauma Speaker Panel featuring Elizabeth Smart
December 9, 2020

How can we each contribute to raising children who thrive, despite adversity? We in the child welfare community work to improve the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families in our care, but all too often it is an unfortunate truism that children in child welfare experience long-lasting trauma, either from their parents or from a system that has a “one size fits all” approach. Children who age-out of care often have little to no supportive networks available to them. These challenges have been amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic, with added stressors on children, caregivers, and families. Despite this, there are children who not only survive traumatic experiences but thrive. What can we learn from these children that we can then share? How do we prepare children who “age-out” of the child welfare system and better equip them for independence? We can positively impact the child welfare system, making it more responsive and compassionate to all children. This speaker panel will examine the possibilities and solutions.