Philly rec center workers voice challenges to City Council, say they are ‘grossly understaffed, under-resourced’

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Recreation centers are supposed to bring fun to their surrounding neighborhoods but Kelly Posano, who works at Jardel in the Northeast, says that can be a challenge for over-extended staff.

“My colleagues have faced incidents of shootings, suicides, fights, threats and drownings at their centers,” said Posano to Philadelphia City Council Monday.

Natalie Felix-DiDonato said that in a decade with the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department, she’s broken up fights, found lost children and runaways, ducked from chairs being thrown by a 7-year-old, dealt with drug use inside facilities, and brushed off threats and harassment.

“To say this job is stressful is an understatement,” Felix-DiDonato said. “We are grossly understaffed, under-resourced and expected to make lemonade out of rocks yet somehow we do it.”

DiDonato and others told council a combination of factors make their jobs difficult — primarily, a 30% vacancy rate, but also the lack of a coherent safety plan and employees, such as recreational therapists with the training to address the many needs recreation center users bring with them.

Brett Bessler, of the union that represents the workers, said a recent survey found nearly half have told a loved one they worried about making it home after work.

“If you look at our job specs on paper, this is not that kind of job where you should be having those kinds of conversations,” Bessler said.
Bessler endorsed the idea, raised by City Council, of having social workers and therapists at centers, as well as security guards.

Parks and Recreation Commissioner Susan Slawson, who is just six months into the job, says she’s working on increasing staffing and improving safety.

“We’re very concerned about the violence and safety issues in and around rec centers,” she said.

Council said they’d use the testimony to try to craft solutions.

“We absolutely agree that there is more work to do to make our recreation centers safer for everyone, including staff and the people who use our facilities,” Slawson said.