Testimony in Support of the Philadelphia Neighborhood Preservation Initiative

Today, October 14, City Council unanimously passed the 2021-2022 Neighborhood Preservation Initiative Program Statement and Budget to provide significant new funding for affordable housing, first time home buyers, home repair programs, small businesses, rental assistance, eviction prevention, and tangled title representation.  Community Legal Services strongly supports this new funding.  Michael Froehlich, Managing Attorney of CLS’s Homeownership and Consumer…

Green background with black text reading: How the Pandemic Response Has Failed Young People & What We Need to Thrive

Report: How the Pandemic Response Has Failed Young People & What We Need to Thrive

This report was written by Youth Justice Project inaugural Youth Action Board members, Deja Morgan, Alexi Chacon, and Madison Nardy.  When the coronavirus was declared a global pandemic in March 2020, young people across the country became unemployed, had to adjust to a virtual learning environment, experienced loss, housing insecurity, and more with no clear…

Pensilvania está aceptando solicitudes para el Fondo de Asistencia a Propietarios de Viviendas (PAHAF)

For information in English   PAHAF proporciona hasta $30,000 para ayudar a propietarios de vivienda que han experimentado una dificultad financiera relacionada con la COVID-19. El año pasado, el presidente Biden firmó el Plan de Rescate Estadounidense. Este plan incluía $350 millones para ayudar a propietarios de vivienda de Pensilvania que experimentaron una dificultad financiera…

Pennsylvania is now accepting applications for the Homeowner Assistance Fund (PAHAF)

Updated 02/01/2021 Para información en Español   The Pennsylvania Homeowner Assistance Fund (PAHAF) provides up to $30,000 to help homeowners who have experienced a financial hardship related to COVID. Last year, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan. The Rescue Plan included $350 million to help Pennsylvania homeowners who have experienced a financial hardship related…

Testimony in Support of Full Use of Homeowner Assistance Funds to Help Pennsylvanians in Foreclosure

Community Legal Services attorney Rachel Gallegos testified on June 10, 2021, in support of Councilmember Cherelle Parker’s resolution calling for swift state action on the Homeowners Assistance Fund (HAF) to help thousands of low- and moderate-income homeowners who have been affected by COVID and are at risk of foreclosure. Read the full resolution   My…

COVID-19’s Impact on Race and Housing Security Across Philadelphia: Philadelphia Renters Report

Read the full report  Racial and economic disparities in affordable housing existed long before the COVID-19 pandemic, and yet, new data from the US Census Bureau suggest that the pandemic and the ensuing economic fallout are only widening these divides. When paired with a global pandemic, we anticipate a national wave of homelessness that will…

Report: Breaking the Record: Dismantling the Barriers Eviction Records Place on Housing Opportunities

Each of the nearly 20,000 eviction complaints filed in Philadelphia Municipal Court each year carries a lifelong blemish on a person’s tenancy records, regardless of the outcome of the case. There is no presumption of innocence – even when a tenant wins in court or enters an amicable agreement to preserve housing, the filing alone…

CLS Releases Recommendations for the Biden-Harris Administration

Community Legal Services of Philadelphia (CLS), one of the largest and most respected legal services programs in the nation, congratulates President-Elect Joseph Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris on their successful election. As President-Elect Biden said in a recent speech: “We must make the promise of the country real for everybody — no matter their…