Harrisburg, PA − Julio 8, 2022 − Today State Senator Nikil Saval (D–Philadelphia) announced a $125-million appropriation in Pennsylvania’s 2022–2023 budget to establish his groundbreaking Whole-Home Repairs Program. He issued the following statement:
“Every person has a right to a home that is safe—a home that is healthy. But right now, across our Commonwealth, hundreds of thousands of households are denied this right simply because they don’t have access to the resources they need to repair their homes.
“For decades, urban, suburban, and rural communities alike have suffered from disinvestment from their government at all levels. The creation of the Whole-Home Repairs Program in this year’s budget changes that.
“This is a hard-fought victory for every Pennsylvanian who is struggling to stay in their home. This program is a direct investment in our people and our communities, whose needs have been ignored, and whose voices have gone unheard. At this time of protracted hardship across the Commonwealth, we have seized a historic opportunity to move the needle on our housing crisis—permanently.
“What we have done sets a new standard. Today we have a program to preserve housing across the Commonwealth, to stabilize our communities, to prevent blight and abandonment and displacement, to build a skilled workforce to keep our state at the forefront of the industries of the future, and to protect the place that is most dear to all of us: home. I’m committed to fighting for every household to have what they need to make their home whole.
“The United States needs a model for how to preserve its aging housing stock and create new jobs, and with the Whole-Home Repairs Program, Pennsylvania has positioned itself as a leader.”
The Whole-Home Repairs Program is the first of its kind in the nation, creating a one-stop shop for Pennsylvanians to repair and weatherize their homes by providing up to $50,000 for habitability repairs and energy efficiency upgrades, allocating support staff to ensure applicants receive the help they need in the order they need it, and funding pre-apprenticeship and training programs to build a skilled local workforce capable of meeting the growing demand.
Pennsylvania has some of the oldest housing stock in the country, and the data show the human impact: one out of every four Pennsylvania voters lives in a home that needs a critical repair, while one out of every three describes their utility bills as “unaffordable.” And if confronted with the need to make a critical repair to their home, nearly half of Pennsylvanians say they would struggle to afford it.
The Whole-Home Repairs program was championed by a bipartisan, bicameral group of Pennsylvania legislators committed to taking action to combat Pennsylvania’s ongoing housing crisis. Senator Saval, who serves as Democratic Chair of the Senate’s Urban Affairs and Housing Committee, introduced the legislation in the Senate with the entire Democratic Caucus and five Republican Senators as co-sponsors. State Representatives Sara Innamorato (D–Allegheny), Rick Krajewski (D–Philadelphia), and Jordan Harris (D–Philadelphia), who serves as the House Democratic Whip, introduced and advanced companion legislation in the House.
The creation of the Whole-Home Repairs Program is the direct result of tireless organizing by a powerful coalition of housing and energy advocates, community organizers, and Pennsylvania residents. This $125-million appropriation marks an unprecedented investment in housing by the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
The campaign for the Whole-Home Repairs Program was a collective effort of the following organizations:
5ª Plaza
ACCIÓN-Vivienda
Berks se levanta
Comité de Acción del Condado de Carbon para los Servicios Humanos
Consejo de Aire Limpio
Comisión de Oportunidades Económicas
Agencia de Acción Comunitaria del Condado de Delaware, Inc.
Proyecto de Justicia Comunitaria
Servicios Jurídicos Comunitarios de Filadelfia
Ebony Suns Enterprises LLC
Agencia de Coordinación de la Energía (ECA)
Franklin Energía
Iniciativa Hogares Verdes y Saludables, Inc
Green Building United
Hábitat para la Humanidad del condado de Bucks
Hábitat para la Humanidad del Valle de Lehigh
Hábitat para la Humanidad de los condados de Montgomery y Delaware
Hábitat para la Humanidad Filadelfia
HELP: MLP
Grupo de Consenso de Hill District
Alianza para la Vivienda de Pensilvania
Servicio Judío para Familias y Niños de la Gran Filadelfia
Alianza para la Eficiencia Energética de Keystone
Lancaster Líbano Hábitat para la Humanidad
Lancaster se levanta
Lehigh Valley se pone en pie
MaGrann Asociados
Hacer la AP de carretera
Fondo Nacional para la Mejora de la Energía
National Nurse-Led Care Consortium
Consejo para la Defensa de los Recursos Naturales
Vecinos contra las plantas de gas
Corporación de Acción Comunitaria de Northern Tier
Climatización del condado de Northumberland
Omicelo se preocupa
Una Pensilvania
PennFuture
Pensilvania se levanta
Proyecto de Ley de Servicios Públicos de Pensilvania
Desarrollo de sistemas de rendimiento
Asociación de Corporaciones de Desarrollo Comunitario de Filadelfia (PACDC)
Autoridad Energética de Filadelfia
Coalición para el Control del Alquiler de Filadelfia
Philly DSA
Philly Thrive
Médicos por la Responsabilidad Social Pensilvania
Grupo de Reinversión Comunitaria de Pittsburgh
POWER Interconfesional
Alianza para la Preservación
Reconstruyendo Juntos Filadelfia
Reconstruir juntos Pittsburgh
Recuperar Filadelfia
Servicios Jurídicos Regionales de Vivienda
Viviendas de Autodeterminación de Pensilvania
Sección de Pensilvania de Sierra Club
Movimiento Amanecer Pensilvania
Movimiento Amanecer Filadelfia
Centro Jurídico de Interés Público
Third Act
Trehab
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