The newly formed SLS/HN Fishtown Town Watch is a community based group of neighbors and business owners working to improve security and focus on safety through activities such as patrol, education, and communication with law enforcement. This organization particularly focuses on the area (parishes) of St. Laurentius and Holy Name.
On a beautiful and warm Saturday afternoon in April, immediately following the 4:30PM mass, SLS/HN Fishtown Town Watch launched its first event for neighborhood pre-teens and teens. The event drew approximately 100 people Including the adult volunteers for a night of pizza, hot dogs, snacks, desserts, and BINGO!
Father Bradley supported the event with the use of Holy Name’s rec room and local sponsors provided the prizes and food. Grateful for all of our adult volunteers who spent the evening setting up, helping the players and cleaning up. We were so happy to see so many of our young people who came down after Mass and played, laughed and enjoyed themselves!
Currently, there is no national town watch database and while the state of town watch organizations in the US can vary, many communities continue to see the value in these groups as a way to promote safety and build stronger, more connected neighborhoods.
According to the crime stats from 2020, Fishtown was experiencing decreases in certain types of crime but like many urban areas, there have been some increases in violent crime since 2022. Despite these fluctuations, Fishtown has been considered relatively safe, with overall crime rates lower than some other areas of Philadelphia.
In 2013, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia consolidated the St. Laurentius and Holy Name parishes. The members of the new parish (retaining the name Holy Name of Jesus) continue to serve the Fishtown Community in a number of ways including the formation of this new town watch organization.
The main sponsor of the event was “Hearts For Haley,” a charitable organization that was created in honor of Haley Morris, a young and beautiful Fishtown woman who died from a rare heart condition. Hearts for Haley is a Fishtown community organization focused on making a positive impact in the lives of children and families.
Philly Stucco Remediation is a relatively new branch-off business by the Logan Family of Logan Construction. Philly Stucco services Fishtown, South Philly, The Art Museum/Fairmount and neighborhoods in between.
Philly Stucco was formed in response to the boom of new construction which consistently were experiencing major structure failure and interior damage. George Logan and his team specialize in diagnosing stucco failure, repairing homes suffering from water intrusion caused by poor or old stucco application and masonry issues, and stucco replacement with new modern siding options.
Photos courtesy of Emma Donnelly and Friends of St. Laurentius School
