Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed the bipartisan “Domestic Violence in Public Housing Emergency Relocation Act” (S.B. 919) on November 13, accompanied by the bill co-sponsors, Senators Art Haywood (D), Camera Bartolotta (R), and Judy Schwank (D). The legislation provides housing protections to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and allows them to seek relocation assistance from public housing authorities.
The legislation was developed with contributions by the Pennsylvania Housing Alliance, an NLIHC state partner, the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape.
Sixty Pennsylvania community centers providing services in the Commonwealth assisted nearly 90,000 survivors of domestic and sexual violence last year. Survivors are often put in situations where they must choose between staying with an abuser or risking homelessness. The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty reports that one in every four homeless women is a survivor of domestic or sexual violence. Governor Wolf urged legislators this year to find a way to enhance the protection of survivors of domestic and sexual violence in Pennsylvania.
While public housing authorities must already comply with the federal Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA), the intent of the new state legislation is to codify at the state-level the assistance to which victims of domestic and sexual violence are entitled. The law ensures the protections stay in place regardless of what may happen federally. This law is the last among a larger package of domestic violence bills that the Pennsylvania legislature has passed with bipartisan support.
“Protecting survivors of domestic and sexual abuse residing in public housing is an important part of fulfilling our mission to ensure every Pennsylvanian has a safe, decent home within reach,” said Phyllis Chamberlain, executive director of the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania. “We were proud to partner with Senators Haywood, Bartolotta, and Schwank to activate our members throughout the Commonwealth to advocate for passage of S.B. 919.”
For more information, contact Michelle Feldman, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania policy director, at: [email protected] or 215-576-7044.