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Honoring and recognizing the Senior Council of Golden Age Living Accommodations (GALA), Melvin Price, Betty Johnson, Claire Higgins, Dale Hunter, Corinne Days, Joy Humbert, Denny Samen, and Sandy Moore, for their advocacy on behalf of the residents of GALA, and for demonstrating that having a voice matters, civic engagement matters, and no Philadelphian should ever be afraid to voice their concerns.
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WHEREAS, Golden Age Living Accommodations (GALA), located at 2022 Haines Street in the West Oak Lane section of the Ninth Council District, is an affordable senior community providing homes to Philadelphians aged sixty-two and older, developed as a joint venture of Mt. Airy Baptist Church, Conifer Realty, LLC, and BCM Affordable Housing; and
WHEREAS, The Senior Council of GALA is a body of neighbors through which the seniors of GALA organize, speak for one another, and work to ensure that their community is safe, well maintained, and treated with dignity; and
WHEREAS, The members of the Senior Council herein honored - Melvin Price, Betty Johnson, Claire Higgins, Dale Hunter, Corinne Days, Joy Humbert, Denny Samen, and Sandy Moore - represent the best of civic engagement in the City of Philadelphia: neighbors who, rather than suffer in silence, stood together and spoke up for themselves and for one another; and
WHEREAS, For years, the neighbors of GALA raised concerns about the conditions in their homes and went unheard; those conditions came to a head in the summer of 2026, when neighbors endured a loss of air conditioning during the summer heat, trash storage problems that produced persistent odors and attracted rodents, and management that too often failed to respond to their residential concerns with the responsiveness and respect they deserved; and
WHEREAS, It was because they had not been heard for years that the Senior Council took action: they organized, they documented their concerns, and they engaged their elected official - and through their Council office, they amplified their voices directly to the ownership of GALA and demanded change; and
WHEREAS, Amplified at last, the neighbors' voices could no longer be ignored: ownership heard them, responded to the demand for change, and worked to remedy the issues they identified, addressing the air conditioning, the trash storage and rodent problems, and the conditions that had gone unanswered for far too long; and
WHEREAS, The residents of GALA were grateful to finally have their voices heard after years of advocating for change. Their steadfast determination was met with meaningful action, serving as a powerful reminder that civic engagement matters, every voice deserves to be heard, and lasting change is possible when neighbors stand together and refuse to remain silen; and
WHEREAS, The story of the GALA Senior Council carries a lesson for every Philadelphian, in every neighborhood and at every age: having a voice matters, civic engagement matters, and no one should ever be afraid to voice their concerns about the conditions in which they live; and
WHEREAS, The Council of the City of Philadelphia therefore honors the Senior Council of GALA for standing up for their fellow neighbors at their complex, for their courage, for having a voice and raising it, and for being steadfast, never wavering in the years they went unheard until their demand for change was finally answered and for the example they have set for neighbors across this City: that public servants are here to serve, that government works best when the people speak, and that neighbors, organized and determined, can effect real change in their own homes; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby honor and recognize the Senior Council of Golden Age Living Accommodations (GALA) - Melvin Price, Betty Johnson, Claire Higgins, Dale Hunter, Corinne Days, Joy Humbert, Denny Samen, and Sandy Moore - for their courage, their persistence, and their advocacy on behalf of the residents of GALA, and for reminding all Philadelphians that having a voice matters and civic engagement matters.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to the Senior Council of Golden Age Living Accommodations as evidence of the sincere appreciation and admiration of this legislative body.
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