Author Archive

Steve Metraux

Over his career, Steve Metraux has done extensive research on homelessness and related topics. He is currently a recovering professor and an analyst for the VA’s National Center for Homelessness Among Veterans. He has called West Philadelphia “home” since 1995, and has learned most of what he needs to know about Philadelphia from morning runs and twenty years of walks with his three children. More information about him is available at www.stephenmetraux.com

Skid Row Deaths Of 1963 Echoes Today's Opioid Crisis

Skid Row Deaths Of 1963 Echoes Today’s Opioid Crisis

September 8, 2017  |  Vantage

Steve Metraux takes a look at the "Canned Heat Wave" poisoning of 1963 that took the lives of 31 people on Skid Row. The public health scholar says the parallels between this tragic incident and Kensington's opioid crisis is telling > more

The Barroom Brawl That Changed Chinatown

The Barroom Brawl That Changed Chinatown

June 29, 2017  |  Vantage

In 1973, a battle ensued between a boozehound bar and the residents of Chinatown. The outcome would change the course of the neighborhood forever. Contributor Steve Metraux has the story > more

Digging Up Vine Street In Search Of Old Skid Row

Digging Up Vine Street In Search Of Old Skid Row

April 26, 2017  |  Vantage

Public health scholar Steve Metraux exhumes the heart of Philadelphia's Skid Row, buried under the Vine Street Expressway by the hands of urban renewal. > more