Erma Ramos
Kensington Welfare Rights Union
Philadelphia, PA
“I'm a mother of 6 children ... I used to cry everyday and also pray to God at the same time to help me find another house with a boiler and heat”
My name is Erma and I’m a mother of 6 children. I live in Philadelphia, PA. For 17 years I have lived in a three bedroom house, but it is a little rough because we didn’t have any heat in the wintertime, and the house was too cold. I got asthma and all of my children were born with asthma. Sometimes we had to go get some heat in the car when we were cold or either stay in the car or find somewhere to sleep at nighttime because inside the house it was cold—colder than outside.
We were always sick with asthma and a cold, but I have good faith in God and I used to cry everyday and also pray to God at the same time to help me find another house with a boiler and heat. I applied one time for housing and it took 10 years for them to help me out because they put you on a waiting list. When I was finally approved for Section 8 housing, I got sick and ended up in the hospital for 35 days.
My Section 8 expired, and I tried to do something when I came back from the hospital, but they told me I lost it and I didn’t qualify anymore. But I felt sad and I talked to the Section 8 supervisor, and he told me to fill out another application and I’ve been on the waiting list.
For almost 5 years I’ve been living in the same house with no heat till God knows when. But during this time I was waiting for housing or Section 8, I met a wonderful person in the Philadelphia Poor People Economic Human Rights Campaign that helped me a lot and my children during this past winter. They provided me and my kids with blankets and a kerosene heater, and also let me stay at her house when it was too cold for us. I’m very thankful to Mrs. Cheri Honkala and her organization and those wonderful people she got working with her trying to help the community and all the needs we have in Philadelphia, PA and trying to help poor people all over the world providing them food, shelter, and health care.
Mi agradecimiento y mis gracias van hacia: Mrs. Cheri Honkala, Miss Cecilia Garza, Miss Emily and all the wonderful people in the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Organization.