We need to talk about safety and justice in Philadelphia!

Community safety is on a lot of hearts and minds right now. We want to hear your experiences, questions, and concerns, and look for solutions to some of the pressing issues facing our city. The Free Library of Philadelphia invites you to join us at any or all of eight community screenings of the award winning PBS docu-series Philly D.A. that chronicles issues surrounding the criminal legal system and how it affects residents such as you. After each screening we are hosting conversations about how and what needs to change in our city, and to learn more about resources in your neighborhood. Full series schedule is on the library's website.

This event, the fourth screening and discussion of the series, will be at the Fumo Family Library at Broad and Porter in South Philadelphia.

For this screening of Episode 6 we’re talking about the opioid epidemic.

Opioid addiction affects over 1 million people in the US and Philadelphia is one of the cities hit hardest by this public health crisis. Many cities are adopting harm reduction practices like free needle exchange or offering free Narcan kits and training to prevent overdose. But can these practices alone keep a neighborhood safe? We’ll talk about what resources exist, what resources are needed, and the role of police and the legal system in addressing the crisis.

Episode 6 synopsis (watch clip) : Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sanchez guides Krasner through the politics of Kensington, the neighborhood at the center of the heroin and violence epidemics as crime continues to rise.