{"id":15114,"date":"2020-08-07T09:00:35","date_gmt":"2020-08-07T13:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=15114"},"modified":"2024-01-02T13:19:15","modified_gmt":"2024-01-02T18:19:15","slug":"lack-of-affordable-housing-leads-homeless-families-to-seek-shelter-in-vacant-philadephia-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/lack-of-affordable-housing-leads-homeless-families-to-seek-shelter-in-vacant-philadephia-homes\/","title":{"rendered":"Lack of Affordable Housing Leads Homeless Families to Seek Shelter in Vacant Philadephia Homes"},"content":{"rendered":"
Vacant homes in The City of Brotherly Love aren\u2019t as empty as they used to be. Many of them are in better repair, too.<\/p>\n
This change comes as a result of local activists moving<\/a> a few dozen homeless people into 10 vacant homes when the city first issued its \u201cstay-at-home order\u201d a few months ago.<\/p>\n The act is a tangible representation of how affordable housing advocates feel: the city, and particularly the Philadelphia Housing Authority, is dropping the ball. So, in a bit of Robin Hood-inspired justice, activists have taken from the “authorities” and given to the poor.<\/p>\n And they don’t plan to stop anytime soon. Among their demands<\/a>, Occupy PHA is insisting that the city transfer ownership of vacant properties, including PHA\u2019s properties, \u201cto a permanent community land trust for permanent low income housing administered by local community control committees.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI never saw myself having to do something like this,\u201d said Christina Berry, a middle-aged single parent. Ms. Berry and her four children live in one of those PHA-owned vacant properties, at least for the time being.<\/p>\n Squatting wasn\u2019t her first option. She had actually already applied for housing with the Philadelphia Housing Authority. Berry also reached out to private landlords in an effort to find appropriate housing for her family. No such luck. Ironically, she now lives in a home that may well have been allocated to her if events had unfolded differently.<\/p>\n These \u201csquatters\u201d are not opportunistic ne’er-do-wells. Many of the families living in these PHA homes jumped through the city\u2019s affordable housing hoops. But they were met with long wait times and inadequate shelter options. So, setting up house in these PHA-owned homes is a self-proclaimed \u201cdesperate move.\u201d It\u2019s one that many felt forced into.<\/p>\n More than a few people have applied for affordable housing through PHA. In fact, nearly<\/em> 60,000 names<\/a> are on their waiting list<\/strong>. About 1,000 people sleep on the city\u2019s streets any given night. When you add those living in shelters and temporary housing, the true number of homeless people is closer to 6,000.<\/p>\n Like most cities, contributing factors to an increase in homelessness<\/a> can be complex. Consider just two.<\/p>\n Gentrification has taken its toll on the city. While the word has become somewhat of a cliche, its impact is real. Two Philadelphia zip codes rank<\/a> among the top 10 most gentrified in the United States. The 19123 and 19146 zip codes experienced a 203 and 404 percent jump in home values<\/em><\/strong> respectively over a 16-year period. Meanwhile, household incomes only increased by 95 and 51 percent.<\/p>\nHail Mary Play Symbolic of Philly\u2019s Homelessness<\/h3>\n
How Did Philadelphia Get to This Point?<\/h3>\n