Adopt-A-Block

Philadelphia LawWorks, the community economic development project of Philadelphia VIP, has initiated a pilot project to tackle urban blight called Adopt-a-Block. Currently, LawWorks assists individual clients all over the City of Philadelphia with homeownership issues. Clients have a variety of legal issues that create a problem with ownership of real estate, or a “cloud” on title. Without title, clients are unable to obtain a grant or loan to make urgently needed repairs, negotiate with a mortgage holder, or negotiate a payment plan for back taxes with the City of Philadelphia. All of these circumstances could force clients out of their homes by sheriff’s sale.

As the first step in broadening the project’s impact beyond our individual clients to City neighborhoods, LawWorks is launching the Adopt-a-Block program. Working in tandem with local community development corporations (CDCs) and utilizing data from the Cartographic Modeling Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, LawWorks will identify blocks with a number of houses at risk of vacancy because of encumbered title. LawWorks will match these homeowners with the legal expertise of a law firm and the in-house counsel of one of the firm’s corporate clients. The outside and corporate counsel will jointly provide the clients on the identified block with legal assistance on a pro bono basis. Citizens Bank Foundation and the Thomas Skelton Harrison Foundation have each provided $5,000 to assist clients with costs required to obtain clear title.

This extraordinary collaborative effort is critical to benefit a community as well as its residents. Title issues can drive clients into homelessness, contributing to Philadelphia’s existing shelter population of approximately 2,500 per night. A tragedy for one family can also be the start of a tragedy for an entire neighborhood. Vacancy is a precursor to neighborhood deterioration; a single vacancy often triggers a chain of vacancies. Early, targeted intervention can keep occupied homes occupied and a block free of vacancies.