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From YouTube: Philadelphia Expands Access to Counsel For Low Income Tenants Facing Eviction 6-29-2017
Description
Councilwoman Helen Gym (At Large) joined advocates, council colleagues, and representatives of Mayor Kenney's administration to announce an historic investment in legal assistance for low-income renters who face eviction. The $500,000 in new funding, which Council passed unanimously this spring, will nearly double legal and supportive services for such renters. By taking the first step to achieving a right to counsel for people facing eviction, Philadelphia will join the forefront of a national movement.
In attendance:
- Council members Helen Gym and Bill Greenlee (At Large)
- Eva Gladstein, Deputy Managing Director of Health and Human Services
- Anne Fadullon, Director of Planning and Development
- Rasheedah Phillips, Managing Attorney, Community Legal Services – Housing Unit, on behalf of the Philadelphia Bar Association Civil Gideon Committee
-Yazmin Vazquez, Renter
A
A
A
Well,
thank
you
everybody
for
coming
out
here
today
and
in
particular,
I
wanted
to
stand
here
with
a
tremendous
number
of
advocates
in
our
communities.
Who've
been
pushing
on
expanded
right
housing
for
a
very
long
time,
and
that's
why
it's
so
important
that
we
all
stand
here
together.
This
is
all
of
our
coming
together
and
we're
all
here
today
to
support
everyone's
human
right
to
quality
housing
in
our
city
of
Philadelphia.
A
It
is
a
great
honor
to
stand
with
some
of
the
city's
leading
housing
advocates
and
civil
rights
leaders
in
Philadelphia
to
announce
a
historic
investment
in
legal
assistance
for
low-income
renters
who
face
eviction.
We,
the
city
of
Philadelphia,
has
committed
a
half
million
dollars
a
year
in
brand-new
funding
which
council
passed
unanimously
this
spring.
That
will
nearly
double
legal
and
supported
services
for
such
renters,
many
of
whom
are
threatened
with
losing
their
homes,
simply
for
standing
up
for
their
rights
to
safe
quality
and
affordable
housing.
As.
A
As
chair
of
council
committee
on
children
and
youth
and
as
a
mother
I
know
how
profoundly
access
to
safe,
stable
housing
affects
families,
as
well
as
their
physical
and
mental
health,
their
access
to
jobs
and
employment,
we
are
learning
more
and
more
that
the
lack
of
stability
of
housing
is
not
just
a
factor
of
property,
but
may
actually
be
a
contributor
to
it.
In
a
city
where
there
are
more
than
20,000
evictions
filed
each
year.
A
Eviction
brought
national
attention
to
this
issue,
and
I
also
want
to
point
out
that
IRA
Goldstein's
research
here
at
Philadelphia's
own
reinvestment
fund
showed
us
both
the
scale
of
the
problem
actually
in
Philadelphia
and
its
disproportionate
impact
on
families
and
on
communities
of
color
I
also
want
to
credit
the
reporting
of
plan
Phillies
Jake
Bloomberg,
which
let
us
see
how
tenants
fair
in
eviction
court
when
they
actually
do
lack
representation.
All
of
these
things
together
make
such
a
difference
to
pushing
forward
to
where
we
are
here
today.
A
The
city,
significant
investment,
is
enormous
and,
as
I
said
before,
it
will
nearly
double
the
legal
assistance
for
low-income
renters
and
will
allow
us
to
expand
right
to
counsel
in
our
city,
which
is
a
tremendous
fight
that
has
been
led
by
civil
rights
and
legal
advocates
in
our
city.
I
want
to
thank
all
the
stakeholders
who
made
this
wind
possible.
A
In
particular,
I
want
to
acknowledge
the
work
of
my
colleagues,
Murray
Sanchez,
Bill,
Greenlee
and
Derek
green
as
well
as
our
council
president
Darrell
Clarke
Councilwoman
community
Sanchez
has
been
a
true
leader
in
improving
housing
quality
and
finding
uninhabitable
and
unlicensed
rentals
and
Councilman
Greenlee
has
been
a
champion
for
fair
housing.
Councilman
green
also
has
been
a
staunch
supporter
of
our
legal
services.
A
Community
I
have
to
point
out
IVA,
Gladstein
and
Sidhu
'ln,
four
and
the
administration
for
working
with
us
to
make
this
a
reality
today
for
our
residents
and
I'd,
also
like
to
mention
the
powerful
work
of
Liz
Hirsch,
who
is
leading
our
Office
of
homeless
services,
rule
and
out
is
at
the
Fair
Housing
Commission
Mitch
little
at
CEO
and
together
all
of
us
form
a
true
interagency
strategy.
I
am
excited
to
work
with
you,
I'm,
proud
for
the
work
that
we've
got
ahead
and
I
know
that
there's
so
much
to
be
done.
A
Of
course,
I'd
be
remiss
not
to
mention
Phil
Lord
at
tenants,
rights,
Union
and
the
Bar
Association
civil
Gideon
and
access
to
justice
task
force.
All
of
the
legal
organizations
and
law
firms
who
believe
in
this
work
have
banded
together
to
help
advance
the
vision
of
right
to
counsel
here
in
our
city,
and
it's
all
of
your
work
that
inspires
us
and,
of
course,
most
of
all
I
have
to
acknowledge
the
real
heroes
of
this
fight.
A
Tenants
and
renters
our
families,
our
mothers,
our
fathers,
our
grandparents
who
have
fought
for
their
rights
oftentimes
when
nobody
was
paying
attention
who
has
stood
up
for
themselves
and
their
families
for
their
children
and
for
their
right
to
housing
in
the
city
that
desperately
needs
their
voices.
They
have
testified
in
City
Council.
They
have
led
the
way
and
they
have
never
flagged
in
their
belief
that
this
city
can
and
must
do
better.
With
this
funding,
Philadelphia
is
joining
the
forefront
of
a
national
movement.
A
A
B
Three
months
ago,
I
testified
for
City
Council
I'll
tell
you
that
for
low-income
people
is
really
hard
to
get
a
place
to
live
in
the
city.
It
is
harder
to
still
get
a
place
that
is
truly
livable.
You
feel
really
restricted
in
your
choices
and,
like
you
have
to
settle
for
what
is
there,
because
that's
all
you
can't
afford.
That
is
what
happened
to
me
when
I
first
moved
into
my
apartment.
My
landlord
showed
me
at
eleven
and
ninth:
there
were
not
many
lights
on
and
I
could
not
see
any
signs
of
damages.
B
My
landlord
knew
I
was
desperate
and
told
me.
Everything
was
fine.
The
next
day
I
started
moving
stuff
in
and
I
started,
noticing
little
things,
and
he
said
they
will
be
fixed
and
that
he
was
on
air,
but
it
was
not
just
little
things.
There
was
a
lot
of
wrong
with
the
apartment
right
with
my
mother
and
I
moved
in.
B
There
was
a
small
storm
and
I
noticed
that
the
heaters
weren't
working
I
told
the
landlord
instead
of
fix,
and
then
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
myself
at
the
time.
B
I
also
had
the
responsibility
of
caring
for
my
newborn
nephew,
but
because
it
was
so
cold
in
the
apartment,
I
had
to
drop
them
off
for
family
members
and
night.
So
he
could
have
a
safe,
warm
place
to
sleep.
He
cried
every
time.
I
left
them.
It
took
a
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.
B
It
still
bothers
me
to
this
day
and
he
wasn't
the
only
problem,
I
accident
accident
accident
law
and
property
manager
to
keep
my
property
livable,
but
they
never
really
did.
Then
something
could
happen.
I
happened
to
find
a
number
for
the
tenant
unit
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,
but
soon
after
the
landlord
filed
an
eviction
lawsuit
against
me,
I
was
lucky
to
get
a
lawyer
for
the
eviction
case.
B
We
went
to
the
landlord
tenant
court
and
once
the
property
manager
realized
I
had
a
lawyer.
He
said
he
had
a
family
emergency
with
to
the
case
and
walked
out.
He
never
be
filed
it.
It's
really
important
for
people
to
have
a
legal
representation,
so
they
are
not
taking
advantage
of
by
certain
landlords
doing
things
to
tenants
who
can't
defend
themselves.
People
need
to
understand
the
laws
and
people
need
to
be
given
the
real
help.
We
all
need
to
help
others
who
can't
stand
up
for
themselves.
B
C
Good
afternoon,
everybody
is
such
a
pleasure
to
be
here.
My
name
is
Ouachita
phillips,
I'm
the
managing
attorney
of
the
housing
unit
at
community
legal
services,
which
provides
free
legal
advice
and
representation
to
thousands
of
low-income
Philadelphians
every
year.
We
are
so
grateful
to
have
work
with
City,
Council
and
other
partners
and
advocates
for
several
decades
to
protect
tenants
and
promote
safe,
affordable
housing.
C
It's
the
close
collaboration
of
tenant
advocate
organizations
such
as
turn
senior
law,
center,
legal
clinic
for
the
disabled,
homeless,
advocacy
project
and
our
partnerships
with
the
Philadelphia
Bar
Association
and
countless
others
that
really
brings
us
to
this
moment.
Eviction
and
lack
of
affordable,
safe
and
healthy
housing
is
a
major
crisis
in
Philadelphia.
It
exacerbates
poverty,
poor
health
conditions
and
housing.
Instability
and
we've
all
heard
two
statistics
that
landlords
tend
to
get
ten
times
the
amount
of
representation
that
low-income
tenants
get
in
landlord
tenant
court.
C
We
would
also
like
to
thank
leaders
in
a
private
bar,
particularly
ethan
Fogle
Joe
Sullivan
and
in
the
Philadelphia
bar
associations
such
as
Debbie
gross
Merrill,
GB
and
Jose,
and
Kathy
Carr
for
using
their
time
and
our
talents
to
stand
up
for
low-income
tenants.
Finally,
we
would
like
to
thank
the
tenants
themselves
and
a
residence
for
speaking
up
and
letting
people
know
that
this
is
a
critical
need.
They
are
the
ones
experiencing
these
issues
and
it's
their
voice.
That
should
be
heard.
C
The
loudest
and
I
think
it's
safe
to
say
that
their
voices
have
been
heard,
so
there's
still
a
lot
of
work
to
be
done,
of
course,
to
ensure
that
philadelphians
can
access
safe,
stable
and
affordable
housing,
but
CLS
and
our
partner
stand
ready
to
fight
for
that
fairness.
Thank
you
again,
I
can't.
Thank
you
enough.
This
is
really
an
extraordinary
moment
for
our
city,
I,
think
and
I.
Just
thank
you
all
for
being
brave,
creative
and
unrelenting
and
ensuring
equity,
justice
and
safe,
affordable
communities.
Thank
you.
A
D
Thank
you.
Everyone.
Thank
you
particularly
to
counsel,
given
the
other
members
of
City
Council,
for
taking
this
issue
on
and
finishing
the
deed.
You
know
not
just
taking
it
on,
but
getting
it
done
and,
most
importantly
to
all
the
tenants
and
the
advocates
who
have
struggled
for
years
to
raise
the
issues.
Those
who
testified
at
City,
Council
and
in
other
places
have
been
to
eviction.
Court
have
suffered
the
consequences,
usually
negative.
We
really
appreciate
that
I'm
going
to
get
personal
for
a
moment.
D
For
everybody
in
the
last
25
years
has
been
a
tremendous
amount
of
work
by
many
that
people
I
mentioned
and
a
little
bit
has
changed,
but
not
much
has
changed.
So
it
was
interesting
to
me.
I
came
into
the
position
of
deputy
managing
director
a
year
and
a
half
ago
and
I
thought
I
didn't,
say:
I
was
quite
out
of
the
housing
world
and
we
had
the
office
of
homeless
services
led
by
Liz.
D
But
it
was
really
surprising
to
me
to
see
how
deeply
the
impact
of
evictions
are
and
how
it
underscores
the
work
of
all
five
agencies
in
our
cabinet,
because,
as
Matthew
Desmond
documented
evictions
actually
forced
people
into
a
deeper
spiral
of
poverty
and
so
the
office
of
community
empowerment
and
opportunity.
Our
anti-poverty
agency
has
been
working
for
about
three
years,
convening
many
of
the
people
in
this
room
to
elevate
the
issue
and
to
talk
about
comprehensive
and
collaborative
solutions.
D
But
we
also
know
that
when
tenants,
don't
have
stable
housing,
it's
harder
for
them
to
access
health
services
and
enter
into
recovery,
be
it
for
a
physical
or
behavioral
health
problem.
We
also
see
the
extent
to
which
housing
as
a
factor
in
child
welfare
cases
where
families
are
separated
or
families
who
are
should
be
able
to
reunify,
are
not
able
to
reunify
because
their
lack
of
decent
and
affordable
housing
we've
seen
in
our
health
department.
D
This
funding
is
critical
to
helping
us
achieve
our
goal
and
the
goals
of
so
many
people
in
the
room
today.
So
we
are
really
grateful
for
it.
We
are
excited
about
it
and
we
are
dedicated
to
trying
to
make
sure
it's
used
in
the
most
impactful
way
and
that
we're
working
strongly
with
everybody
in
this
room
and
many
many
others
to
demonstrate
the
effectiveness.
So
we
can
attract
even
more
resources.
So,
thank
you.
Everybody.
A
E
It's
really,
as
so
many
of
the
other
speakers
said,
it's
really
a
pleasure
to
be
here
today.
You
know
a
lot
of
times.
The
city
is
faced
with
issues
and
problems,
sort
of
land
at
our
doorstep,
with
a
Sud
and
when
we
get
a
chance
to
really
work
proactively
together
with
a
lot
of
different
stakeholders
and
then
come
forward
and
really
do
something
about
it.
It
really
is
very
rewarding
it's
an
incredible
thing
and
although
only
realize
that
this
is
not
going
to
solve
the
problem,
it's
a
big
step
in
the
right
direction.
E
E
So
last
year,
as
part
of
our
effort
to
affirmatively
further
fair
housing,
the
city
conducted
an
assessment
of
fair
housing,
and
in
order
to
complete
that
assessment,
we
had
to
analyze
data
and
we
met
with
residents
and
we
strategize
with
stakeholders
and
among
one
of
our
more
disturbing
findings,
was
that
more
than
41,000
households
were
evicted
in
2014
through
15.
That
represents
one
in
every
seven
renter
households
right
one
is
too
many
one
in
seven
is
a
crisis
not
surprisingly,
these
are
our
families
with
their
least
resources
and
they
face
the
highest
eviction
rates.
E
E
This
nationally
recognized
program
saved
more
than
ten
thousand
homes
from
foreclosure,
and
this
funding
that
we're
talking
about
today
is
going
to
provide
those
same
type
of
benefit
benefits
to
our
renter
community,
because,
as
we've
heard
from
so
many
of
the
speakers
today,
keeping
people
in
their
homes
is
about
so
much
more
than
housing.
It's
more
than
just
preventing
homelessness.
E
E
Imagine
if
you
don't
have
that,
if
you
don't
know
where
you're
going
to
are
you
going
to
be
focused
on
sending
your
kids
to
school?
Are
you
going
to
be
focused
on
getting
ready
for
your
job?
The
next
day,
no
you're
going
to
focus
on
one
thing:
where
am
I
going
to
sleep
tonight?
How
am
I
going
to
deal
with
my
kids
all
right?
How
am
I
going
to
get
up
and
start
another
day
tomorrow?
That
is
why
these
kinds
of
programs
and
this
kind
of
effort
is
so
important.
E
Evictions
are
big
problem
in
Philadelphia
and
we're
so
lucky
that
we
already
have
terrific
organizations
that
are
providing
housing,
counseling
and
legal
services
to
tenants.
However,
today
there
hasn't
been
enough
money
to
meet
these
demand
for
services
and
then
funding
we
announced
today
we
know,
will
not
meet
the
full
demand,
but
again
it's
a
step
in
the
right
direction
and
I
have
to
really
thank
folks
like
Yasmin
I,
don't
know
if
anybody
has
ever
been
to
city
council
and
testified,
but
it
is
not
easy.
E
E
You
know,
and
lastly,
I
think
the
way
the
reason
we
got
here
is
when
the
folks
standing
behind
us,
the
folks
in
this
room,
the
people
like
Yasmin,
when
cities
and
officials
start
to
see
their
residents
as
people.
These
are
the
things
that
happen
and
so
I
thank
all
of
you
for
realizing
that
we
are
a
city
of
people
and
that
housing
needs
to
be
at
the
forefront
and
we
need
to
house
all
of
our
people.
The
Department
of
Planning
and
Development
is
thrilled
to
be
part
of
this.
E
Liz
and
Eva
at
all,
Andrew
and
all
her
folks
that
we
work
so
closely
together,
of
course,
city
council,
incredible
partners
that
we
have,
and
all
of
you
guys
here,
I
mean.
If
we
do
this
together,
we
can
do
something
about
it
and
we
really
need
to
take
this
voice
and
this
energy
and
bring
more
resources
to
our
city.
E
F
One
of
the
many
good
things
is.
We
know
the
money
is
going
to
be
used
in
the
right
way,
because
you
have
all
these
folks
that
know
what
they're
doing
with
it
and
have
been
added
for
a
long
time
and
are
just
relentless
advocates.
In
fact,
I
came
in
the
room
today
in
Jewish,
gold
and
Phil
Lord
grabbed
me
to
advocate
about
something
about
feted.
So,
as
I
said,
they
never
give
up
and
that's
great
and
that's
to
the
benefit
of
all.
F
G
Sure
I
think
I'm
last
think
it's
a
wrap
up,
always
amazing
and
wonderful
comments.
My
name
is
Eric
Boggs
and
I'm,
an
attorney
and
a
Legislative
Counsel
to
a
councilman,
Maria
Kenyatta,
Stan,
chezj
and
I
just
want
to
thank
in
particular
Councilman
Jim,
as
well
as
councilman,
Greenlee
and
councilman
green,
for
their
tireless
advocacy
on
this
issue
for
truly
giving
families
a
voice
in
their
pursuit
of
safe
and
healthy
homes.
G
Councilman
Sanchez
has
spent
her
entire
career
fighting
to
keep
folks
in
safe
and
healthy
homes,
but
I
think
as
an
but
that
when
we,
when
we
think
about
the
consequences
of
eviction,
we
often
think
about
displacement,
maybe
even
homelessness,
but
the
consequence
of
displacement
pervade
every
facet
of
someone's
life.
They
uproot
folks,
schools
and
jobs.
G
And
when
we
talk
about
specifically
providing
legal
representation
in
landlord-tenant
court,
anyone
in
this
room,
who's
been
in
municipal
court
and
been
a
part
of
our
landlord
Tennant
system,
can
speak
to
the
need
for
better
access,
better
efficiency,
more
transparency,
so
that,
when
an
issue
does
result
does
arise
between
a
landlord
and
a
tenant.
We're
not
left
with
the
dire
consequences
of
eviction
and
substandard
housing
in
our
city,
and
that
requires
more
legal
representation.
G
And
andean
Gaffigan
as
well
the
work
they
put
together
to
truly
give
folks
a
voice
over
the
past
year
has
been
nothing
short
of
tremendous
I
mean
Jennifer,
never
ceases
to
inspire
me
and
teach
me
everyday
at
this
job,
but
this
was
above
and
beyond
anything
I've
seen
in
terms
of
the
tireless
advocacy
and
I
think
is
still
put
in
the
email,
unprecedented
collaboration
between
this
group
of
stakeholders,
and
it's
been
a
wonderful
thing
to
be
a
part
of
it
and
I.
Thank
you
all.
A
So
I'm
just
going
to
close
it
out
by
saying
there's
just
tremendous
power
in
local
movements.
There's
tremendous
power
when
movements
for
justice,
advocacy
organizations
are
tenants
who
are
fighting
for
their
own
rights,
come
together
and
work
within
government.
That,
to
me,
is
the
future
of
what
politics
needs
to
be
both
a
collaboration
and
a
broader
vision,
visioning,
and
even
when
sometimes
our
government
and
our
politics
can
look
at
their
worst
I
believe
that
local
movements
can
rise
up
amid
that
and
transform
the
way
we
look
at
one
another.