SP2 Penn Top 10: Full Website and Workbook Released

Can we end homelessness? How do we successfully and compassionately treat those experiencing mental illness? How should we approach the debate on gun policy? These are just a few of the questions raised in the School of Social Policy & Practice’s (SP2) newest signature initiative – the SP2 Penn Top 10 Social Justice & Policy Issues for the 2016 Presidential Election.

The SP2 Penn Top 10 is a research-driven, multimodal project in which experts from SP2 analyze and address some of the most crucial social justice and policy issues leading up to the 2016 presidential election, including homelessness, mass incarceration, gun policy, and mental health treatment.

Designed to bridge the gap between the School’s prominent academic work and the real world, the SP2 Penn Top 10 expertly employs a comprehensive website, video interviews, animations, a social journalism fellowship, and a visually-driven workbook featuring policy recommendations, informative essays, and more to inform the critical conversations that are – or should be – taking place.

“We can’t predict what issues will demand major local, national and international re-imagining in the years to come, and no scholarly expert has all of the answers, but our faculty members are asking some of the necessary questions – sincerely, rigorously, and with an investment in positive social outcomes,” said SP2 Dean John L. Jackson, Jr. “The SP2 Penn Top 10 project represents one example of that ongoing effort.”

The mission of the SP2 Penn Top 10 is to educate, enlighten and empower a diverse audience of voters and policymakers from all walks of life.

“SP2 knows that if there is one less person sleeping on a street tonight or one less victim of gun violence or one less young person with limited options, then this effort was worthwhile,” said SP2 Penn Top 10’s Founding Creator Steven Feldman, W’84. “Please join our call for action.”

The project’s workbook was officially released in Washington, DC in May at a colloquium geared towards ending homelessness. The colloquium – sponsored by SP2 and the Wharton Public Policy Iniatitive – was the first of several forthcoming events surrounding the key issues analyzed in the SP2 Penn Top 10.

Visit www.PennTopTen.com today and see what the SP2 Penn Top 10 is saying about some of the nation’s most pressing problems – and how we can solve them. Be sure to also watch this exclusive message from SP2 Dean John L. Jackson, Jr.