Please help prevent massive evictions in Philadelphia by urging Philadelphia Councilmembers to vote in favor of all five bills that make up the Emergency Housing Protections Act on Thursday 6/18. The bills are necessary to prevent landlords from evicting thousands of tenants for not paying rent after losing their jobs during the Covid-19 crisis, but the bills still allow for landlords to collect unpaid rent over a reasonable period of time.
Below is a list of email addresses and phone numbers for all councilmembers. We suggest calling, with priority going to Henson, Johnson, and Parker (as recommended by Gym), Quinones-Sanchez, Bass, Gilmore-Richardson, Domb, and Clarke. Refer to the contact list below, as well as sample scripts for calling and emailing.
| Phone | |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-3414 (215) 686-3415 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-3444 (215) 686-3445 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-3422 (215) 686-3423 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-3454 (215) 686-3455 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-3424 (215) 686-3425 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-3416 (215) 686-3417 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-3442 (215) 686-3443 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-3452 (215) 686-3453 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-3450 (215) 686-3451 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-3420 (215) 686-3421 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-3446 (215) 686-3447 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-0459 (215) 686-0460 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-0454 (215) 686-0455 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-0461 (215) 686-0462 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-3412 (215) 686-3413 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-3448 (215) 686-3449 |
| [email protected] | (215) 686-3458 (215) 686-3459 |
Call Script
Hi, my name is ________, I live in zip code ________. I am calling with two demands. I am urging that Councilmember _________ votes in favor of all 5 bills of the Emergency Housing Protection Act. I am also urging that Councilmember _________ supports the demands of Black organizers in reducing the Philly Police budget by $120 million. [add why important to you]. You may call me back at ________.
Email Script
Dear Councilmember ________,
I ask for you to support the five bills in the Emergency Housing Protection Act (EHPA) that were passed out of the Housing Committee. I also ask that you support continued funding for Philadelphia Eviction Protection Project (PEPP).
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in thousands of households in Philadelphia being unable to pay their rent. The majority of these residents are reliable renters who consistently pay their rent but have been simply unable to do so due to a sudden loss of income. Rental assistance is only available for approximately 4,000 households, meaning that another 9,000 households will not receive rental assistance.
If City Council does not pass these bills, the fact is that there will be an unprecedented eviction crisis in Philadelphia. This is not an exaggeration. There will be more evictions than the city can even come close to handling, both in terms of hearing cases and housing those who are evicted. Municipal Court will be overwhelmed and hearings will be significantly delayed. Landlords will take matters into their own hands and illegally lockout tenants. With nowhere to go, these residents will end up sleeping in the streets or entering congregate shelters, which are already stressed and unable to provide at full capacity because of Covid-19. And even for those cases that do make it to court, many tenants will still be evicted unless PEPP remains fully funded and permitted to participate in the courtroom.
I am scared to see what will happen to our city if we do not pass all five of these bills. Please vote to pass them yourself, and please urge your fellow councilmembers to do the same. The risks are too great for all five of these bills not to pass NOW.
