Philadelphia families, children, seniors, and unhoused residents deserve safety, dignity, and humane treatment.

Instead, people in Philadelphia’s shelter system are reporting serious and repeated harm: unsafe and unsanitary conditions, mold and dark buildup in damp spaces, degrading warehouse-style overcrowding, verbal abuse, staff misconduct, reports of theft, and a system that too often treats vulnerable people like they do not matter.

This is not just about one bad room or one broken shower. This is about a broader shelter system where neglect, humiliation, and unsafe living conditions are being allowed to continue while public money keeps moving.

People who enter shelter are supposed to receive protection. They should not be forced to endure filth, intimidation, mistreatment, overcrowding, or conditions that put their health and safety at risk.

We are demanding immediate accountability from the City of Philadelphia, the Office of Homeless Services, and every agency responsible for shelter oversight.

We demand:

Immediate independent inspections of shelters named in public complaints
Public release of inspection findings and corrective action plans
Immediate correction of unsafe, unsanitary, and overcrowded conditions
A full public accounting of money spent on shelter sites and services
Independent investigation into reports of staff misconduct, verbal abuse, theft, retaliation, and neglect
A safe complaint process for residents without punishment or retaliation
Real oversight that protects shelter residents instead of protecting failed systems
No child should have to grow up in these conditions.
No mother or father should have to fear abuse, neglect, or retaliation while asking for help.
No human being should be warehoused in unsafe spaces while officials hide behind delay and bureaucracy.

Philadelphia must answer for what is happening inside its shelters.

Sign this petition to demand accountability now.