Homeless Advocacy Project

On this Transgender Day of Remembrance, we reflect on the lives of the at least 34 individuals who have been murdered in 2020. Join us in saying their names today.

Help HAP find our next Executive Director by spreading the word about this exciting opportunity. Candidates are encouraged to submit their materials by December 11, 2020. https://www.haplegal.org/about/careers/executive-director/

A good starting point for the development of more affordable housing in Philadelphia. #HHWeek

Please consider making a #GivingTuesday gift to HAP today. $50 helps obtain a birth certificate for one homeless senior applying for housing; $150 helps a veteran experiencing homelessness obtain her DD2-14, which proves she is entitled to access a variety of services;... $500 helps a family experiencing homelessness negotiate with a former landlord to settle the old debt preventing them from accessing affordable housing programs; $1,000 helps a father experiencing homelessness get the custody order he needs to reunite with his children; $3,000 helps a disabled youth avoid street homelessness by securing SSI disability benefits through HAP's SOAR Project; and $8,000 helps a homeless veteran disabled in the service obtain VA benefits to afford stable and safe housing. Thank you for your support!

HAP is so grateful for the dedication of our long-time volunteers like Cassie Summers. A senior paralegal at Reed Smith and a HAP board member, Cassie and her team have worked to obtain 19 out-of-state birth certificate for HAP clients over the past several months. This crucial work helps HAP clients move from homelessness into housing and we can't thank our volunteers enough.

We're looking for dynamic candidates to help lead HAP into our next chapter. Please spread the word!

It's Cyber Monday. Shop from the safety of your home while helping HAP provide free civil legal services and advocacy to reduce the frequency and duration of homelessness in Philadelphia. Log into your account and select "Your AmazonSmile" and Homeless Advocacy Project. The AmazonSmile Foundation will then automatically donate a percentage of your eligible purchases to HAP. THANK YOU!

HAPpy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Since HAP was unable to recognize our 2020 HAP Annual Benefit sponsors’ incredible impact at this year’s event, we would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Blank Rome, Comcast NBCUniversal, Hogan Lovells, and Merck for their generous support as gold sponsors. Your participation helps provide free legal services to those most in need!

"Laura Gallagher waited until she was back in her car to cry."

HAP is proud to partner with Valley Youth House's Synergy Project. Each week, HAP attorney Laura Kolb offers four hours of virtual appointment slots for Synergy outreach workers to schedule youth with legal needs. So far, Laura has represented six youth through the partnership, assisting them with a variety of legal matters ranging from SSI disability claims to obtaining vital identifying documents.

HAP supports Community Legal Services of Philadelphia's call for more safe, stable, and affordable housing, additional federal investment in rental assistance to avoid an eviction onslaught, and federal policies that restrict a landlord’s ability to deny housing based on dated and misleading criminal and eviction records. Click here to learn more: https://clsphila.org/legislat/biden-harris-recommendations/

It has been an unprecedented year, but thankfully we have incredible support from our HAP Annual Benefit platinum sponsors, Exelon and Morgan Lewis. We graciously thank you for your continued generosity!

A painful reminder that we need to treat mental illness, not police it. "Between one-quarter and one-half of all people killed by police are experiencing a mental health crisis...The only time we see improvements in the outcomes of these calls is when [mh police] teams are combined with increases in community-based mental health services." https://www.inquirer.com//west-philadelphia-shooting-walte

Getting back to our mission! Today HAP reopens our legal clinic at the Kensington Storefront, providing many hurt by the opioid epidemic with legal services to #endhomelessness. W thanks to #probono volunteer attorneys from Morgan Lewis and Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP ... https://www.muralarts.org//porch-li/kensington-storefront/

Today is a sad day in Philadelphia as we mourn the loss of Walter Wallace, Jr. Last night he was tragically shot by police with his mother watching and pleading for his life to be spared. All of us at HAP believe deeply that Black Lives Matter and that we can no longer tolerate the killing of Black people in our country. For this reason, we ask the Mayor and City Council to publicly commit to investing in the personnel, education, and training that may have saved Mr. Wallace...’s life, including a broader commitment to accessible mental health treatment. We need bold leadership and we need to change the way our police interact with Black communities and with those suffering from mental illnesses, and we need it now, before more lives are lost. Our condolences go out to all of Mr. Wallace’s family. We will keep him in our thoughts as we continue to advocate for improving the lives of the marginalized members of our community. May Walter Wallace’s death not be in vain.

Getting back to our mission! Today at 2pm HAP Paralegal Kay Lawal reopens her legal clinic at the Achieving Reunification Center, providing separated families with legal services to #endhomelessness. For more family resources, get to know the ARC.

Check out HAP's Fall Newsletter!