Hunting Park Green Invests In The Youth Of North Philadelphia

When Jose Ferran was 17, he was shot. Since that traumatic incident, he has been passionate about serving others and creating environments that guide and support youth to become the best versions of themselves and also give back to their community.

Healing Hurt People first inspired Ferran, a program offered through the hospital he stayed at while recovering from his gunshot wound. They helped him discover his passions and purpose and even guided him to secure his first job. After that, he worked for the organization for a number of years, which then lead to him getting his degree in Social Work with additional training in trauma and PTSD.

With his education and experience, Ferran wanted to do even more for the youth in his community. In August 2020, he founded Hunting Park Green. Their mission is “to create a fun and interactive individual and group programming for young people in North Philadelphia that encourages healing and wellness beautifies public spaces, strengthens the community, that provides leadership and career-focused experiences. We envision North Philadelphia young people using their power to make North Philadelphia feel better and personally win at life simultaneously.”

Hunting Park Green works to accomplish their mission by creating opportunities for youth to volunteer in their community, such as cleaning up their neighborhood parks and streets; taking specialized classes on business, graphic design, and other creative arts; and participating in weekly peer specialist support groups, which helps them heal from traumatic events and build life and professional skills.

Ferran wants to continue to raise money and grow the program so HPG can hire paid trainers for the programs and create more opportunities. He would also love to expand the non-profit into other North Philadelphia neighbors so they can reach more youth.