RentHelpPGH
Our Mission Statement:
To build a just and stable housing ecosystem for Allegheny County tenants by ensuring residents can easily access high quality eviction prevention and supportive services, rental assistance programs, and resource navigation supports.
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History
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Since July 2020, RentHelpPGH has assisted more than 8,500 Allegheny County households, more than 23,800 of our neighbors, obtain legal and financial assistance to avoid eviction. We help residents understand the eviction process and access pre- and post-eviction-filing resources to stabilize their households and create an environment in which they can thrive.
Did you know no one in Pennsylvania tracks who is evicted? It’s true. Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services recently launched a groundbreaking interactive database that shows how many evictions are filed and their outcomes—but not the stories behind them. That’s a key reason RentHelpPGH was founded: to create transparent understanding of who is being evicted, why, and what they need to stay safely housed.
We’re committed to transforming housing stabilization in Allegheny County through compassionate resource navigation, robust data collection, and a deep understanding of the barriers our clients face. We use that knowledge to help build systems that reflect and respond to the real needs of families in our region.
RentHelpPGH believes in the power, importance, and money-saving efficiency of collaboration with all stakeholders and partners when developing programs. We work closely with other eviction prevention and housing stabilization organizations, government funders and service providers, and rely on the experiences and feedback of both tenants and landlords to inform our programming, processes, and advocacy.
Many of our team members have experienced housing instability, including eviction and homelessness. That lived experience shapes how both our colleagues and our organization show up for the community. That’s why we prioritize paying our staff a true living wage, offering generous paid time off, and striving to provide a full suite of benefits—including health, dental, retirement, flexible and responsive scheduling, and professional development. We believe in caring for the people who care for our neighbors—and ensuring that those working every day to promote housing stability are also able to experience it in their own lives.
You can find RentHelpPGH Resource Navigators in select Magisterial District Courts through the Lawyer of the Day program, supporting landlord-tenant mediations, and assisting hundreds of visitors to the Housing Stabilization Center every month. Additionally, we do outreach to nearly every household in Allegheny County with an eviction filing against them, ensuring that people who might not otherwise know about their court date have the information and support they need to show up and access services.
Access to services should be universal. Our clients get better access to services and achieve better outcomes through our work and advocacy. To fulfill our mission, RentHelpPGH uses our experience to inform funders and programs, ensuring that our energies are not just creating a better life for our clients, but for thousands of others who do not find us in their pursuit of services.
After three years of fiscal sponsorship by ACTION-Housing, Inc. (thank you!), we received our 501c3 in July 2023. As soon as we receive the reports from our first audit, they will be shared here.
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Our Board​
Swain Uber, Chair: ​
Swain Uber was born and raised in Pittsburgh. He has been working as a human rights lawyer for the past 7 years, in Europe and the United States, with a particular focus on housing justice and the criminal legal system.
He is currently working as a housing advocate at the Community Justice Project, focusing on anti-eviction programming and policy work, while also working with the Abolitionist Law Center on many different projects, primarily working to end abuses at the Allegheny County Jail and throughout the entire local criminal legal system.
He is the current chair of the RentHelpPGH board, after having served on the advisory committee for RHP since its inception and working closely on program development with the organization since then.
Over the past several years, he has worked with the Penn Plaza Support and Action Coalition on anti-displacement efforts, the Bukit Bail Fund of Pittsburgh pushing to expand pretrial freedom, and many other local groups focused on housing justice and abolition work.
He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009 with a bachelor’s in Economics, Politics & Philosophy, and from Stanford Law School and Stanford University in 2016 with a joint J.D./M.A. in International Policy Studies.
Christina Howell, Treasurer:
Christina is Executive Director of Bloomfield Development Corporation (BDC), a Pittsburgh, PA-based nonprofit that serves to build a thriving, diverse community through equitable engagement. She launched the Bloomfield Saturday Market in 2014, which has grown to become a model for farmers markets in Western Pennsylvania. While centering the needs of farmers, BDC is able to identify and meet the needs of the community, driving customers into the business district, providing a third place that strengthens the social fabric of the community, and building a strong customer base for new entrepreneurs. Christina has participated in numerous panels and led workshops to share best practices for creating a robust market that addresses both a community’s and the food system’s unique needs.
Outside of the market, Christina is most proud of helping form the Community Benefit Collaborative, a coalition of four community organizations working together to solve staffing and operational issues common to small nonprofits. Prior to joining BDC in 2014, she co-founded Bloomfield Livable Streets, a grass roots transportation and infrastructure advocacy group. Her previous work includes community organizing, fundraising, event management, and real estate.
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Crystal Jennings, Secretary:
Crystal is the Director of Stewardship & Community Engagement at City of Bridges Community Land Trust (CLT), where she leads homebuying and resident support programs. CLT develops and stewards permanently affordable homeownership in Pittsburgh, empowering low-to-moderate-income residents to build equity. Passionate about affordable housing, Crystal is a Lead Core organizer with the Penn Plaza Support and Action Coalition, mobilizing displaced residents after hundreds were evicted from Penn Plaza Apartments for retail development.
A founding board member of RentHelpPGH, Crystal has been involved since its inception, advocating for those impacted by Pittsburgh’s housing crisis. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Regional Housing Legal Services, creating housing and economic opportunity in underserved communities.
Crystal is a Community Mediator for Just Mediation Pittsburgh, helping people resolve housing disputes outside of court. She is also a member of the Center for Shared Prosperity, working to address economic inequities in Pittsburgh through collaboration between the community and Carnegie Mellon University.
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Wasi Mohamed:
Board member since 2023, Pittsburgh Foundation
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Lawrence Swanson:
Board member since 2024, Housing Partnership Network
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Our Partners
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ACTION-Housing, Inc.
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Allegheny County and Allegheny County Department of Human Services
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Allegheny County Housing Authority (ACHA)
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Brandwine
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City of Pittsburgh
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Community Justice Project
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CREATE Lab at CMU
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Ebony Law
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The Heinz Endowments
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The Henry L. Hillman Foundation
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Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP)
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Just Mediation Pittsburgh
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Neighborhood Legal Services
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Opportunity Fund
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The Pittsburgh Foundation
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Pittsburgh Hispanic Development Corporation
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Pittsburgh Union for Regional Renters (PURR)
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Regional Housing Legal Services (RHLS)
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United Way of Southwestern PA
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URA’s Housing Opportunity Fund
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Willissae’s Agency for Vision and Empowerment (WAVE)