Senator Saval speaks at a May 2023 rally with advocates on the steps to the Pennsylvania Capitol in support of the Whole-Home Repairs Program.
Harrisburg, PA − July 12, 2024 − Pennsylvania’s 2024–2025 state budget passed late yesterday evening, and in response to the lack of additional funding for Pennsylvania’s wildly popular Whole-Home Repairs Program, State Senator Nikil Saval (D–Philadelphia) issued the following statement:
“Every person in our Commonwealth deserves a home that is healthy and safe. This belief fueled one of the largest housing wins in Pennsylvania’s recent history: the creation of the Whole-Home Repairs Program, which has become a national model for preserving our homes and creating new jobs in a growing field.
“This year’s budget contains the fruits of several important hard-fought, hard-won victories, but unfortunately, a reinvestment in the lifesaving Whole-Home Repairs Program is not yet among them. And amidst a national housing crisis, any important gains we make in our budget—for education, for care for seniors and people with disabilities, for community safety and violence prevention—are eroded when the homes that people return to at the end of the day are fundamentally unsafe.
“The coalition of housing and energy advocates, community organizations, Pennsylvania residents, and bipartisan legislators remains committed to the fight to fund this program to meet the enormity of Pennsylvania’s need. Our commitment to combatting the housing crisis is unwavering. The need is not going away, and neither are we.
“Two years after the passage of the program, counties continue to report receiving calls every day from residents who heard about this program and felt hope. Maryland has adapted a version of this program, Massachusetts appears on the verge of enacting it, and a national pilot has been proposed at the federal level with bipartisan support. Everywhere, at every level, the fight for Whole-Home Repairs—the fight for our homes—continues. This work does not end until we have a Commonwealth and a country in which all households have what they need to stay healthy and well in their homes and in their communities.”