What We Do

Serving the children of the Hunting Park-East Tioga sections of North Philadelphia, OST has integrated a trauma-informed care approach to its after-school programming. Built on the principles of safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration and empowerment, trauma- informed care supports the positive growth and development of children who live with systemic stresses that can cause lasting impact.

North10 staff works together with program partners to leverage resources and ensure high- quality programming to serve the unique needs of families, children and youth in the community.

In designing this important community resource, North10 sought to create programming that values the voices of youth; encourages participation in the design, delivery and evaluation of services; instills leadership qualities in youth; and involves civic involvement, engagement and contribution through service.

The North10 OST program operates in “pods” – small clusters of students, who are referred to as scholars. Typical program enrollment includes 36 scholars, divided into four pods of nine scholars. North10 has developed guidance to ensure the health and safety of scholars, staff and partners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• One full-time, highly qualified North10 youth development professional is assigned to each pod; part-time staff are assigned to groups as needed.
• Program partners conduct specialized activities in each pod throughout the week. Daily programming is broken down into two 45-minute program segments, a 15- minute “brain break”/stretch, and dismissal that includes grab-and-go dinner and breakfast for the next day.

Fall 2020 activities and programming includes ARTrageous, OST’s award-winning chess team, Urban Intervention (academic tutoring), Clay Studio, Focus Mentoring, Mighty Writers and nutrition education (through Vetri Community Partnership).

Deepening its commitment to the children and families of the neighborhood, North10 is working with key partners to create a safe and community-focused space at Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School, open to all community residents. Through a collaboration with The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonprofit organization, the schoolyard will be transformed into a community park with and for our neighbors. Based on TPL’s 10-Minute Walk Impact Report, 9,402 residents live within half a mile of the proposed schoolyard site, with 30% – nearly 3,000 – being children under the age of 20.

As part of the participatory design process, Bethune teachers and students will have a unique hands-on role in envisioning their future schoolyard.  North10 and TPL are taking an important step to combat
this injustice, by providing all children the right to be children through the opportunity of outdoor play. 

North10 Philadelphia (North10), working with Interface Studios, V. Lamar Wilson Associates, and the Scattergood Foundation, seeks to comprehensively enhance the quality of life with residents in a section of Philadelphia’s Hunting Park-East Tioga neighborhoods by facilitating a resident-driven plan that improves increases dignified, high quality housing options; stimulates economic development, jobs, and business growth; and ensures the health and wellness of the community through sound physical, mental, and behavioral health services and clean, safe environment. This section of North Philadelphia has faced decades of disinvestment and neglect leading to complicated challenges, including intergenerational poverty and few social supports for health and wellness. Please visit the plan’s page here.