Affordable Housing Advocates Demand Fair Share of Funds for Residents Most in Need

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                           

September 15, 2025                                                                                                       

AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVOCATES DEMAND

FAIR SHARE OF FUNDS FOR RESIDENTS MOST IN NEED

PHILADELPHIA – Members of the Philadelphia Coalition for Affordable Communities (PCAC), an 80+ member group representing 100,000  poor and working-class Philadelphians, gathered at City Hall ahead of the first City Council session on September 11 to call on Councilmembers to ensure a fair share of the funds allocated to the new H.O.M.E. plan reach residents who are most in need.

Speakers, including Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, Chair of City Council's Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless, Staci Moore, board chair for the Women’s Community Revitalization Project, and Shearon Allen, an independent living specialist from Liberty Resources shared personal experiences with housing insecurity and the inequities that Philadelphians are facing when it comes to affordable housing and related programs. The group urged Councilmembers to ensure increased housing dollars are allocated to programs that create and preserve affordable homes for those who need them most.

"As City Council's Housing Chair, I look forward to working with Mayor Parker, Council President Johnson, and my Council colleagues to enact a HOME budget that invests in the families who have been left behind,” said Gauthier, “Half of Philadelphia renters and a third of homeowners are making the impossible choice between housing and food, medicine, or clothing. 200,000+ Philadelphia households are one unexpected maintenance issue or rent increase away from slipping into homelessness.  We will never solve our housing crisis if we do not use this once-in-a-generation, $800 million investment to finally give those who need our help the most their fair share."

Affordable homes are out of reach for too many Philadelphians. Higher-income households are eligible for city housing programs, leaving fewer resources for families with lower incomes. The resources the City has devoted to affordable housing are not going to seniors, families, and individuals with disabilities who need them most. Not enough of the City’s dozen housing programs are designed to support its most vulnerable households, putting our poorest families at risk of being displaced from their communities. At the current pace of investment, it will take 220 years to bridge the affordable housing gap. Philadelphians can’t wait.

“The City’s H.O.M.E. plan presents a new opportunity to allocate funding to critical programs that support affordable housing for our neighbors,” said Johnny Rashid, Pastor, West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship. “PCAC is calling on City Council to recognize the inequities that currently exist within these programs and make sure that, as funding decisions are made, the residents with the most need are prioritized.”

For more information about the Philadelphia Coalition for Affordable Communities, please visit http://phillyaffordablecommunities.org/.

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Philadelphia Coalition for Affordable Communities (PCAC) was formed in 2014. Since its inception, it has demanded that funding the Housing Trust Fund be a priority for the City of Philadelphia. PCAC’s 80+ members include the city’s leading community, disability, faith, labor and urban agriculture organizations. Together, these organizations represent over 80,000 Philadelphians who need affordable, accessible housing. For more information about PCAC, please visit www.PhillyAffordableCommunities.org