Title
Honoring Leo Elliot, Susan Layne, and Nancy Geist for their skillful and committed work in making the Eviction Diversion Program Portal possible and their nationally-recognized success in keeping thousands of Philadelphians in their homes.
Body
WHEREAS, Philadelphia's Eviction Diversion Program is a nationally recognized model for keeping families housed. By bringing landlords and tenants together before an eviction is filed, connecting households to rental assistance and counseling, and resolving disputes through mediation rather than the courtroom, the program has prevented thousands of evictions in Philadelphia each year and has become a template studied by jurisdictions across the country; and
WHEREAS, The Eviction Diversion Program operates through the day-in, day-out coordination of multiple partner organizations, including CORA Services / Good Shepherd Mediation, Philadelphia Legal Assistance, Community Legal Services, and the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation, working alongside the City of Philadelphia and Philadelphia's housing counseling agencies. From its earliest days the program has been shaped by ongoing feedback from every group it touches, tenants, landlords, landlord advocates, mediators, attorneys, and housing counselors alike, and its strength has always come from sustained partnership and shared learning across them; and
WHEREAS, In February 2026, after years of cross-agency design, development, and testing, the program launched a new Eviction Diversion Program Portal: a single digital system that receives applications, routes them across pathways, supports mediation, rental assistance, and direct negotiation, and connects all partner organizations. The Portal is the operational foundation that allows the program to function at the scale that Philadelphia's housing emergency demands; and
WHEREAS, Leo Elliot of Philadelphia Legal Assistance is the Program Coordinator for PLA's EDP tenant hotline, coordinating a team of par...
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