Marcus Biddle

I'm Philadelphia-based journalist with a background in urban design, outreach work and community engagement. My work has appeared on web text and radio broadcast at NPR affiliate station WHYY-FM, as well as national health and science podcast "The Pulse." 

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Pottstown officials demand answers after rumors spread over Philadelphia homeless encampments

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As Philadelphia prepares to shut down homeless encampments in Kensington, officials in surrounding counties are expressing concerns that the planned sweep will bring more unhoused residents to their communities.

Philadelphia’s latest plan has received mounting questions and criticisms — from harm reduction advocates, City Council and now officials outside the city’s limits.

On We
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Most Philly health providers cannot speak Vietnamese. A local pharmacist is trying to change that through a stroke education program

Van Hellerslia was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States as a refugee when she was two. She grew up in the Logan neighborhood of North Philadelphia. Her family spoke Vietnamese at home, and her proficiency in English was almost non-existent.

“I pretty much grew up learning English either from Sesame Street or going to school,” she said.

When she was 11 years old, her mother began experiencing serious health issues. Hellerslia found herself in a health navigator role, something sh
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Pa. families could soon be waitlisted for food assistance. Here’s why

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The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is in jeopardy unless Congress passes a national budget on Friday.

The WIC program is facing a $1 billion funding shortfall — which the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicated in January — putting around 6.7 million pregnant mothers and children at risk of losing access to nutritional foods na
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Kensington leaders using $3.5 million of opioid settlement funds toward housing revitalization

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Members of the Kensington Planning Process on Wednesday announced long-term plans for using opioid settlement funds to prevent what they call the next “impending” crisis — housing issues and gentrification.

To date, Philadelphia has been awarded $200 million in total opioid settlement funds, money paid by opioid makers, distributors and retailers in restitution for their role in t
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Rage rooms invite people to relieve anger, but do they work?

At Rage Room Philadelphia, for fees ranging from $30 to $100, prospective “ragers,” as Tull calls them, have plenty of options to grab a baseball bat, crowbar or sledgehammer, and smash their anger away.

There’s the basic 5 minute Fast n Furious package, which for $30 includes one bucket of breakables – from kids toys, small electronics and bottles – for five minutes of rage time. Or there’s a one-hour car smash session for groups of up to 12 people.

And yes – most people are successful at des
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‘Kids at Play’ in Roxborough is setting up a new mental health program for children

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Kids at Play, an indoor sensory playground and pediatric therapy center, is launching a new program that combines recreation and mental health services for children.

The announcement comes as the organization relocated its facilities to Roxborough from East Falls about nine months ago.

Kids at Play offers outpatient speech, occupational and physical therapy — in addition to Appli
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Antipsychotic injections tied to sharp decline in hospital readmission, Rutgers study shows

These conclusions strengthen the belief that injections are more beneficial for individuals with schizophrenia than oral medications, said Rutgers University psychiatric clinical pharmacist Daniel Greer, the lead author of the study.

“One of the biggest problems with patients who have schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, is a lot of the symptoms can cause impairment in functioning, and mental functioning,” he said. “So remembering to take medication every day when you’re having hallucinat
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A new study shows that OUD treatment access in Philly is fragmented

A new study is drawing a detailed picture of the opioid use disorder crisis in Philadelphia, and the results are eye-opening.

Using geographic information systems (GIS) mapping and focus groups around the city, researchers at Thomas Jefferson University have found that Philadelphia’s “robust” treatment system is also “siloed” and “fragmented.”

The findings show that individuals living with substance use describe several social determinants of health that create barriers to care. Among those co
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1 year later, Upper Darby’s pet-friendly homeless shelter remains a lifeline

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Chuck Jones never imagined that one day he would be homeless.

“I had a pretty good life for a while,” he said.

He previously worked as a caretaker for an elderly woman, and was living in Upper Darby with his dog, Midnight, a black labrador retriever.

Jones describes Midnight as “his world.” He follows him on long walks in the park, interacting with other people, and making each
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A Philly mom's message for families dealing with addiction during the holidays

Wondering if she was alone with her struggles, Alston turned to a group that educates and supports parents of children with substance abuse disorder.

“Parents of Addicted Loved Ones” (PAL), an Arizona-based nonprofit, provides a support network for people like Alston. She found the resource “solely by accident,” but it’s brought much comfort to her life.

“The first meeting that I was included in, it’s like a light bulb went off in my head and I thought to myself, ‘Oh my God. I’m not crazy,’” s