It's a hidden fact (more popular by the day) that you can volunteer at the Philadelphia Flower Show and get free admission. I've volunteered at three separate shows, and saw drastically different exhibits each time. It's become something I look forward to and even
Join The Platia on March 3, to learn what to do when you see someone possibly overdosing on the street. You can sign up at this link, but keep reading too! We'll go over the signs to identify if someone needs help, how to use Narcan, CPR sheets,
This is not a Platia event, but a separate event run by the organization C.R.O.P.S. in nearby Atlantic City, New Jersey. I continually look to C.R.O.P.S. as I explore food systems, because of the way they're thinking about who gets
Misinformation often begins accidentally, just from a lack of knowledge. And misinformation about harm reduction abounds, from not thinking addiction could happen to you or your loved ones, to believing people on the street deserve their circumstances, to not understanding how needle exchange programs can help. But what happens in
As a journalist I try to have people who report to me on rapid response events take what's called "street medic training." Also called "Stop The Bleed," these are the kind of skills you should know if you may be in prolonged protest and
There are so many people who can benefit from community that it sometimes feels disorienting to know where to begin. But instead of waiting for someone to hand you a grand plan, you can do a small point of action today to make a connection with a neighbor. This is
When I'm asked why a newsroom with a focus on harm reduction talks so much about food and eating, I remember that the culture around food that we see online is one of luxury. It's a culture of new restaurants and of the current place to
Welcome to a new year. We've got a lot to do and The Platia has a few classes on offer already. In January, The Platia is hosting a deescalation event that is at capacity. If you want to attend the next one, please let me know. In February,
If you're new to The Platia, thank you so much. Let me take a moment to explain what The Platia is, and why I believe happiness and civic success is tied to information sharing. The Platia [ plat-e-uh] comes from the term for the village meeting space
Last week, in preparation for a Platia book drive, I spent the afternoon at Books Through Bars in West Philly. The small space is packed with tables and chairs for volunteers, lots of mail bins, and two full libraries worth of organized books. Every donation I receive goes directly to
I want to thank everyone who has donated or attended a Platia event in 2025. The idea was a big one: To take service journalism out of the gate-keeping newsrooms and teach the community how to care for itself through events. And the events shouldn't make you
If you’re not familiar with the workings of a newsroom, there’s a small army of support staff that perform the research and take the written words and edit them, fact-check them, video them, code the page, answer reader questions and feedback, and grab the data. In other
