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The future of Annenberg, with John L. Jackson Jr. at the helm
john jackson speaking at a film screening

The future of Annenberg, with John L. Jackson Jr. at the helm

Under his leadership, the school is poised to further engage in the pressing cultural, political, and ideological conversations happening in today’s unprecedented media landscape.

Michele W. Berger

Can closing homeless encampments help Philadelphia’s opioid problem?
People standing in a group outside, with winter coats and orange vests, in front of a tent and plastic bags.

A report authored by Dennis Culhane of the School of Social Policy & Practice and David Metzger of the Perelman School of Medicine shows that shuttering two camps led to many new addiction-treatment slots and some successful placements in permanent or temporary housing. (Photo: City of Philadelphia)

Can closing homeless encampments help Philadelphia’s opioid problem?

According to a new report, the city’s recent effort opened up treatment spots for people with opioid addiction and offered permanent and temporary housing options.

Michele W. Berger

Negotiating a truce in the war on drugs
Participants at the Addicted to the War on Drugs Symposium

Ethan Nadelman, founder and former executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, Penn political science professor Marie Gottschalk, Evan Anderson, a senior lecturer in the School of Nursing, and Roseanne Scotti, the New Jersey director of the Drug Policy Alliance, discussed their policy ideas. (Photo: Gwyneth K. Shaw)

Negotiating a truce in the war on drugs

A Penn Law symposium brought together experts from the legal, law enforcement, social work, and policy camps to discuss how to refocus the decades-long fight to be less punitive and more protective.

Gwyneth K. Shaw

Can music improve anxiety and depression for people with memory disorders?
Two women and a man playing large bongo drums.

Mary Javian, chair of career studies at the Curtis Institute, Tempy Small, a program participant, and Adam Pangburn, coordinator of community performance at Curtis, participated in a drum circle to close out the final “Creative Expression through Music” session. Nick DiBerardino (not pictured) lead the classes, which were coordinated by Penn graduate students Sarah Bujno and Matt Volpe (in the background).

Can music improve anxiety and depression for people with memory disorders?

That’s the aim of a recently completed pilot program connecting Penn Memory Center patients, Penn graduate students, and Curtis Institute musicians.

Michele W. Berger

Veteran homelessness down 5 percent, to continue declining each year
abstract images of people on the street, panhandling, a shoppint cart, evoking homelessness

Veteran homelessness down 5 percent, to continue declining each year

The U.S. departments of Housing and Urban Development and Veteran Affairs announced that veteran homelessness has decreased 5.4 percent in 2018—bringing the total down to nearly half the number of homeless veterans that were reported in 2010.

Penn Today Staff

Staging the plague
Laurel Redding of the School of Veterinary Medicine writes on an easel as members of her table look on

Gathered in Fagin Hall for a daylong disease outbreak symposium, students worked across disciplines to devise strategies for containing a fictionalized infection. Laurel Redding, a School of Veterinary Medicine faculty member and event facilitator, writes up her group’s thoughts during a brainstorming session. 

Staging the plague

Eighty-one students training in a diversity of health professions worked with regional and federal agencies to confront an imagined outbreak scenario centered around bubonic plague in Philadelphia.

Katherine Unger Baillie

The Healing Word
Deborah Thomas in front of bookcase

nocred

The Healing Word

Deborah Thomas embeds herself in communities stricken by violence to chronicle the humanity revealed during the aftermath.

Blake Cole