Church leaders bring jobs, support to North Philadelphia corners

A community outreach effort aimed at preventing violence is bringing employment opportunities, wellness services and other resources directly to some of North Philadelphia‘s most troubled corners.

Late at night, between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., faith-based leaders and volunteers with the “Corners to Connection” initiative visit neighborhood streets to connect residents with services designed to create long-term change.

“If there is someone who says, ‘I want to get off this corner, but I need sustainable employment,’ we have hiring. If there is someone who is dealing with food insecurity and needs support in that way, that’s Harmony. Or someone who says, ‘I need harmony,’ we have those resources,” the Rev. G. Lamar Stewart Sr., founder of Taylor Made Opportunities, said.

June is National Gun Violence Awareness Month, and the local initiative is focused on helping break cycles of violence by meeting people where they are. Organizers use a bus to take community violence intervention efforts directly into neighborhoods.

In just over a week of outreach, the team said it has connected with more than 1,000 people.

Stewart, now in his fifth year leading the effort, said the work remains important even as violent crime trends downward in Philadelphia.

“The more they’re hearing about the impact through people who have been hired, by year two or five some of those individuals will say, ‘I’m ready now,'” Stewart said.

Minister Keith G. Quick, an associate minister at Taylor Memorial Baptist Church and a former Philadelphia homicide detective, said his own upbringing helped him avoid the dangers he saw around him.

“The neighborhood I come from is like this — people hanging out on the corner, a bar was across the street, a place that sold drugs — but my upbringing kept me away from that,” Quick said.

Now, Quick said he is using his experience to encourage others to choose a different path.

“If a working man is getting a check every week, he is able to provide for his family. That means he doesn’t have to steal. He doesn’t have to indulge in criminal activity,” Quick said.

One of the people reached through the initiative, Elgin Grove, said the resources have made a difference.

“It’s definitely gave me a new idea on life, how to look and go about things,” Grove said.

Organizers hope to create more success stories through a wellness and employment fair scheduled for June 29 at SEPTA’s Olney Transportation Center.

“Everybody has choices. It’s just a matter of will you do it or won’t you,” Quick said.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.