By Jack Tomczuk

Mayor Cherelle Parker, as she nears the end of her second year in office, is directing her administration to do more for people living on Philadelphia’s streets. 

In a directive issued Friday, she ordered the city’s Office of Homeless Services and other municipal departments to facilitate and support the opening of 1,000 new shelter beds by the end of next month in a bid to “end street homelessness in Philadelphia.”

The annual Point-in-Time, or PIT, count – during which volunteers fan out across the city on a single winter night to tally the homeless population – registered 1,178 unsheltered individuals in early 2025, up 21% from last year and 67% over the 2023 number, according to data from the administration.

In addition to the extra shelter beds, Parker’s order calls for boosting outreach and prevention initiatives. Managing Director Adam Thiel is tasked with working with the city’s legal team to “assess whether abating the street homelessness crisis requires the City to invoke additional powers” under state or local laws, the document states.

Parker signed the directive during her annual “State of the City” address, signaling that the issue will be a top priority for her administration in the new year. The 2-hour event incorporated performances and top deputies reflecting on progress made on a variety of issues through the mayor’s first two years.

During her speech, the mayor said her administration’s approach to homelessness will be modeled on Riverview Wellness Village, the 234-bed drug recovery facility the city opened early this year on the county jail campus in Northeast Philadelphia.

Gaudenzia, Merakey, the Black Doctors Consortium and Warren E. Smith Health System were among the providers brought in to offer services at the site.

“You’ve seen what’s taken place at Riverview. It’s working,” Parker said. “We know that the same collaborative approach will help us get more people off the street and back into productive and stable living.”

Parker added that her team is in talks with nonprofits and health systems. Although specifics about the strategy have not been released, she mentioned the Philadelphia Housing Authority and Jefferson University as partners. Jefferson will offer pro bono nurse practitioners to aid the effort, Parker added.