Fair housing and eviction records were the topic of discussion at the Yesha Ministries Fellowship Hall in South Philly on May 15.
More than 60 community members met with local legislators and officials to talk about the effect eviction records have on residents, especially young ones.
Councilwoman Kendra Brooks called the meeting to emphasize the need to expand the city’s Eviction Diversion Program.
“The harm of eviction records falls most heavily on black women and their children, and the damage ripples out into our classrooms, our schools and our communities,” said Brooks. “We can’t expect our young people to succeed in school during the day if they don’t have a safe place to lay their head at night.”
Brooks highlighted the successes of Philadelphia’s Eviction Diversion Program, which connects landlords and tenants with resources to help resolve rental disputes before an eviction is filed. Created during the pandemic, nearly half of the people who entered the program since 2020 were able to reach an agreement without filing an eviction. Brooks is hoping to increase city funding for rental assistance to $50 million per year and make it a permanent solution.
State legislators also spoke in support of House Bill 1769, which would increase access to affordable housing by sealing eviction records in some cases.
“Home is where life begins for Pennsylvania families – all of us,” said Rep. Smith-Wade-El, who is the primary sponsor of the bill. “When our children get up in the morning to go to school, they should do so from a bed in a home that is safe, warm and dry. Real educational equity means making sure that children – the population most vulnerable to eviction – are able to be in a home with their families. Inaccurate, unscrupulously distributed eviction records haunt families and make children homeless, even in cases when the judge found in the tenant’s favor. It’s time to put a stop to that.”
Residents spoke about their experiences, or their family’s experience of trying to find new housing after eviction. Cherish Green went through it as a child.
“Even after the eviction, it was almost impossible to find a place to stay because of the eviction record,” she said.
Reps. Jordan Harris, Rick Krajewski and Elizabeth Fiedler are co-sponsors of the bill.
“Safe housing is the building block that allows our neighbors to find and maintain jobs, keep their kids in school, build community and take care of their mental and physical health,” said Fiedler. “But past eviction filings, even if inaccurate, outdated or misleading, can be a major barrier to stable housing. As legislators, it’s our responsibility to support working people and families by sealing eviction records.”
Community members with concerns about eviction were able to connect with staff from Community Legal Services, who were on site to provide legal support. They also received verbal support from local lawmakers.
“We know that right now, to many of you, housing does not feel like a human right,” said Krajewski. “How can it when the rent goes up and up and up, while your wages stagnate? When the PHA waitlist is thousands of names long and your wait time to get a callback is 5 years? Or when you are being denied housing because of an eviction record from 5 years ago, a record that doesn’t even make sense because your case was settled.”
On May 22, City Council will hold a hearing on Brooks’s legislation to make the Eviction Diversion Program permanent. House Bill 1769 has been referred to the Judiciary Committee in the state House, where it awaits a hearing.
