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From YouTube: Yazmin Vasquez Testifies Before Philadelphia City Council on Philly Evictions 3 20 2017
Description
From the hearing of the Joint Committees on Licenses & Inspections and Public Health & Human Services held on Monday, March 20, 2017 to hear testimony on the following item:
Constituent Yazmin Vasquez testifies on evictions and tenant rights.
A
Good
afternoon,
dear
members
of
the
Philadelphia
City
Council,
thank
you
for
holding
these
hearings.
I
would
like
to
start
by
telling
you
that
for
low-income
people,
it
is
really
hard
to
get
a
place
to
live
in
the
city.
It
is
harder,
it
is
harder
and
still
to
get
a
place.
That
is
truly
livable.
You've
been
I'm.
Sorry
for
the
record,
can
you
say
your
name
Oh
Yasmine
Vasquez
as
hard
as
to
still
get
a
place.
That
is
truly
livable.
A
You
feel
really
restricted
in
your
choices
and
like
you
have
to
set
up
for
what
is
there,
because
that
is
all
you
can't
afford.
Most
of
us
don't
know
our
rights
or
don't
know
what
landlords
are
supposed
to
do.
This
is
not
something
you
learn
in
the
streets.
The
laws
are
not
sold
to
you
by
your
landlord.
It
all
puts
you
in
a
situation
where
you
don't
know
what
is
going
on
or
how
to
help
yourself.
A
That
is
what
happened
to
me
when
I
first
moved
into
my
apartment,
my
landlord
showed
me
at
11
and
9.
There
were
not
many
lights
on
and
I
cannot
see
any
signs
of
damages
and
my
landlord
knew
I
was
desperate
and
saw
me.
Everything
was
fine.
The
next
day
I
started
moving
in
stuff
and
I
started,
noticing
little
things,
and
he
said
they
would
be
fixed
that
he
was
on
it,
but
it
was
not
just
little
things.
A
There
was
a
lot
wrong
with
the
apartment
right
with
my
mother
and
I
moved
in
there
was
a
snowstorm
and
I
noticed
the
heaters,
weren't
working
I
told
the
landlord,
and
instead
of
fixing
it,
he
came
to
the
apartment
with
a
single
space
heater
that
did
not
do
the
job
and
because
it
was
so
cold,
we
slept
in
the
same
room
in
the
same
bed.
People
shouldn't
have
to
live
like
that.
Eventually,
I
bought
more
space
heaters
to
myself
at
the
time.
A
I
also
had
the
responsibility
of
caring
from
enough
newborn
fum,
but
because
it
was
so
caught
in
the
apartment,
I
had
to
drop
him
off
for
family
members
and
names,
so
he
could
have
a
say
from
one
place
of
sleep.
He
cried
every
time.
I
left
them.
It's
a
good
toll
on
me
because
I
was
supposed
to
be
the
person
to
care
for
him.
I
will
call
to
check
up
on
him,
but
it
was
not
enough.
It
still
bothers
me
to
this
day
and
that
he
wasn't
the
only
problem.
A
There
were
rodents
everywhere,
eating
my
food,
my
furniture
and
my
clothes
making
nests
in
my
shoes.
I
couldn't
even
buy
groceries
because
they
were
eat
him
and
then
I
realized.
The
basement
was
flooded
with
raw
sewage,
the
smell
was
horrible
and
it
was
embarrassing.
It
may
I
couldn't
have
family
or
friends
over
living
like
that
makes
you
feel
alone
and
secluded,
and
it
makes
me
feel
really
depressed,
I
accidentally
max
for
the
landlord
and
property
manager
to
make
my
property
livable,
but
they
never
really
did
then
something
good
happened.
A
I
happened
to
find
a
number
for
the
tenant
union
representative
Network
on
the
Internet,
and
they
told
me
to
come
in.
I
went
to
a
class
there,
which
helped
me
understand
my
rights
and
what
to
do
next.
Even
that
wasn't
enough.
Even
that
wasn't
easy,
though
I
told
my
property
manager,
I
was
going
there
and
by
the
time
I
was
back.
He
was
at
my
house
waiting
for
me
from
there.
A
He
started
harassing
me
and
even
try
to
change
my
locks
and
then
even
after
I
moved
out
staying
with
a
family
member,
they
still
filed
an
eviction
lawsuit
against
me.
I
was
lucky
to
get
a
lawyer
for
the
eviction
case.
I
went
to
landlord
tenant
court
and
once
the
property
manager
realized
I
had
a
lawyer.
He
said
he
had
a
family
emergency
and
with
to
the
case
and
walked
out.
He
never
be
found
it.
If
God
could
give
you
if
I
could
give
you
a
message.
It
is
this.
A
It
is
really
important
for
people
to
have
legal
representation,
so
they
are
not
taking
advantage
of
by
certain
landlords.
Doing
things
to
tenants
who
can't
defend
themselves
before
I
found
out
I
have
rights.
I
did
not
know
what
to
do
now.
I
know
a
little
bit
so
that
I
won't
go
through
that
again
and
can
help
educate
others
about
their
race.
People
need
to
understand
the
laws,
and
people
need
to
be
given
real
help.
We
are
we.
We
all
need
help.
We
all
need
to
help
people
who
can't
stand
up
themselves.