Help Hold Philadelphia Accountable for Families Living in Unsafe Housing

For four years, I have been fighting for something that should never have required this much fighting: a safe, livable home for my children and me.

I am a mother of five raising my children in Philadelphia, and for years I have lived with serious housing conditions that have affected our daily lives and my ability to provide a stable home.

This is not a story about wanting a nicer house.

I want a normal home.

A home where the bathroom floor isn't deteriorating from water damage. A home where the toilet doesn't rock because the floor underneath it is sinking. A home where the kitchen sink isn't collapsing underneath itself. A home where basic utilities work and my children can live without me constantly worrying about what is going to break next.

I have spent years trying to get help.

I contacted housing agencies, Fair Housing, the EPA, city officials, elected representatives, state legislators, and multiple government offices. I have reached out to Cherelle Parker. I repeatedly reported my circumstances and asked for assistance. I continued reaching out even after being told that people could not help me.

I became consumed by trying to get someone to listen.

There were days when I cried because I could not understand how I could repeatedly ask for help for my children and still be left with the same problems.

I have even reached the point of being in court because my landlord has not shown up.

And still, the conditions continue.

The problem is bigger than one family.

Families should not have to spend years fighting to have unsafe housing conditions taken seriously. Parents should not have to choose between buying food, paying a utility bill, fixing a dangerous condition, or replacing something that has broken because they are living in a home that has not been properly maintained 

I know what the law and housing standards are supposed to say.

But I am talking about real life.

I am talking about what happens when a mother repeatedly asks for help and still has to wake up every day and figure out how to keep her children safe.

I am asking Philadelphia residents, community organizations, housing advocates, elected officials, journalists, and anyone who believes families deserve safe housing to listen, share this petition, and demand accountability.

I am asking for:

Meaningful intervention for families living in unsafe and deteriorating housing.
Greater accountability when landlords fail to maintain safe living conditions.
Faster responses to serious housing complaints involving children.
Accessible emergency housing and relocation resources for families who cannot safely remain in their homes.
Greater transparency when residents repeatedly seek assistance from city agencies and receive no meaningful resolution.
A system where families do not have to spend years fighting before someone takes their living conditions seriously.
Four years is too long.

My children deserve better.

I deserve better.

And families across Philadelphia deserve to know that when they ask their city for help, somebody will actually listen.

Please sign this petition. Share it. Talk about it. Help me make sure that families like mine are not invisible.

I am not asking for pity.

I am asking for accountability.