Roosevelt House congratulates former Public Policy student Abraham Gutman (Hunter College, Class of 2016), editorial writer at The Philadelphia Inquirer, on winning the August Sidney Award for his exposé examining the failures of Philadelphia’s semi-privatized eviction system, which can leave impoverished residents locked out of their homes with little or no notice.
“[T]here is an open secret among Philadelphia’s housing lawyers: tenants don’t receive the final notice before they are locked out of their home,” said Gutman in his interview with the Sidney Hillman Foundation. “This story reveals a major injustice hiding in plain sight,” said Sidney judge Lindsay Beyerstein. “Philly has an opportunity to improve its system ahead of the looming eviction crisis now that federal pandemic aid is expiring.”
Visit the Philadelphia Inquirer’s website to read Abraham’s full report: Evicted without warning: How Philly’s troubled system leaves some tenants blindsided and locked out of their homes.
Abraham was a former Public Policy Program student at Roosevelt House and did his BA/MA in Economics graduating in 2016. He participated in several Roosevelt House activities and was a Chief Information Officer for the Public Policy Program. He has been working at The Philadelphia Inquirer since June 2018, where he writes opinion columns and editorials primarily focused on drug policy, gun violence, and criminal justice. Follow him on Twitter @abgutman.