6300 block of Ambrose Street. (Photo: Rasheed Z. Ajamu)
This Sunday, June 8, POWER Interfaith will hold its occasional town hall meeting, focusing on housing this time.
“Housing [is] one (issue) that is very prominent,” says POWER Interfaith organizer, Jayson Massey, on the need identified from their ongoing organizing efforts.
Another organizer, Robin Mohr, says it’s “really a baseline for anything else that you want to accomplish in your life.”
POWER Interfaith, put simply, is a grassroots organization that strives to unite people to advance racial and economic justice, environmental sustainability, and civic engagement. How do they do it? Via faith-driven actions and community organizing.
Through 43 meetings across Philadelphia, POWER Interfaith reached and spoke with 600 Philadelphians to determine which issues mattered most to them. The most prominent recurring theme, of course, was housing and affordability.
This, and other highlights from their work, are highlighted in their recent summary report.
And while they identified the need for the topic at hand through these efforts, POWER organizers say this year’s Pew State of the City report, which published in April, underlines why housing affordability must be a top priority.
The report states that the 19144 Zip code had a median income of $45,727 and 19138 had a median income of $51,586 in 2023. Both are lower than the Philadelphia median of $60,302. The report says the gap is wider for Black families, meaning Germantown residents, particularly, could be at a disadvantage.
As of 2023, approximately 48.2% of Philadelphia households were occupied by renters. Among renters, almost 50% were cost-burdened, defined as individuals spending more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities.
Philadelphia’s median rent for a two-bedroom apartment was reported at $1,475 per month. This means the average Germantowner is cost-burdened, committing 39% of their income to rent and utilities if they live in 19144, or approximately 34% if they live in 19138.
POWER organizers’ sentiments on the current state of housing echo those shared in the report, stating that the rising cost of rent does not match the quality of living.
“People are being charged for places that are not clean or have enough heat or water or whatever else,” Mohr says. “…that’s not sustainable. And for our community to thrive, we need there to be a broader range of high-quality housing options.”
And Massey makes another point related to the cost of living, hinting at what is more to come for Philadelphians.
If utilities go up 10-15%, that might mean you can’t afford your rent. That might mean you can’t afford food because that gap between the money that comes out at the beginning of the month is just so small.
The duo also makes the point that cost-burdening leaves little wiggle room for saving funds for emergencies, saying it is also an essential thing people should be able to do.
Some things the report lists as priorities to combat the current state of housing are:
- Implementing rent control
- Putting limits on house flipping (the practice of buying & quickly reselling properties)
- Increasing affordable housing across the city
- Converting vacant properties into affordable housing
- Eliminate tax breaks and ensure universities pay Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs).
These town halls primarily help accomplish three things. The first is to have the invited government officials on record as to where they stand on issues.
“And then we can come back and say, you said this in front of all these people, so here’s the legislation or here’s what we need for you to do for our community,” Massey added, saying there could be both city and state impacts.
This particular town hall will focus on City Council, aiming to influence the upcoming budget vote on June 12 and the vote on the mayor’s H.O.M.E. Housing Plan, which seeks to build, restore, and preserve 30,000 homes. Council members Cindy Bass (8th District) and Anthony Phillips (9th District) are invited to the town hall.
The second thing the town hall seeks to accomplish is for residents to exercise their civic engagement in a participatory and non-intimidating manner. They say these smaller town halls help provide some level of “practice” for folks who may eventually want to expand where they share their testimonies, perhaps eventually to City Hall or Harrisburg.
And, lastly, the gatherings want to help make issues more real to elected officials.
Mohr says when elected officials can see the people behind the issues, “it puts a human face. And on what could be just statistics or economic facts, it reminds us the real cost of insufficient housing or insecure housing on families, on old people, on young people, on education.”
Mohr finishes, saying, “As human beings, we remember better if there’s a story and care more.”
Small samples of these kinds of testimonies can be read in the aforementioned report.
Overall, organizers say it’s also just crucial that constituents have connections with their representatives and be able to hold them accountable.
Additional POWER Interfaith meetings are expected to be held through September 17, during which time we will continue to collect information and data from neighbors regarding their housing needs. They’ll then meet with city leaders and legislators to share findings and ask questions.
POWER’s ultimate goal in this process is to create and present an agenda for its citywide congregation to adopt this year and in the years to come.
The town hall will run from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at St. Vincent de Paul Church, located at 109 E. Price St. Organizers kindly request that attendees RSVP in advance.