MAYOR NUTTER LAUNCHES SHARED PROSPERITY PHILADELPHIA, THE CITY’S NEW, COMPREHENSIVE ANTI-POVERTY PLAN

Philadelphia, July 11, 2013– Mayor Michael A. Nutter and Eva Gladstein, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity (CEO), announced the City of Philadelphia’s new, comprehensive anti-poverty strategy, Shared Prosperity Philadelphia, which will bring together governmental, private and philanthropic agencies already working to reduce poverty across the City to better coordinate and expand efforts and improve progress tracking methods.rnrn rnrn“Poverty is a persistent and devastating problem in Philadelphia. It affects children, families and seniors and limits the potential of our great city’s economy, communities and thousands of citizens,” said Mayor Nutter. “Shared Prosperity Philadelphia is a critical first step in creating a new, holistic approach to understanding, confronting and reducing the effects of poverty and creating a more thriving, prosperous Philadelphia for every citizen.”rnrn rnrnShared Prosperity Philadelphia focuses on five strategic goal areas that aim to:rnrn rnrnFocus job creation and workforce development efforts for adults with the greatest barriers to employment;rnExpand access to public benefits and essential services;rnEnsure children enter school prepared and expand year-round learning opportunities;rnIncrease housing security and affordability; andrnStrengthen economic security and asset building.rn rnrnThe CEO, established through Executive Order by Mayor Nutter in January, will serve as the coordinating agency. It will support collaboration, coordination and communication among partner agencies.rnrn rnrn“We believe in collective impact: bringing together all our anti-poverty efforts with a common agenda, shared measurement of our strategies and continuous communication. Harnessing the energy of our many partner organizations and experts will multiply our effectiveness. It will not only maximize the impact of every anti-poverty dollar we now have but could inspire more investment and commitment from government and other sources,” said Eva Gladstein. “Shared Prosperity Philadelphia is a call for all of us to come together to fight poverty and to increase opportunities for all of our citizens.”rnrn rnrnThe CEO led the data gathering process and analysis to create Shared Prosperity Philadelphia. The process included: meetings, focus groups, surveys, and more than 200 interviews with anti-poverty experts from non-profits, academia, philanthropic foundations and government, as well as providers and consumers of anti-poverty services.rnrn rnrnTo read the full Shared Prosperity Philadelphia report, log on to www.sharedprosperityphila.org.