The Fair Housing Rights Center and Housing Ensures Living with Dignity (HELD) Volunteer Program

This is a call for volunteers. The Fair Housing Rights Center in Southeastern Pennsylvania (FHRC) is a 34-year-old civil rights nonprofit based in Philadelphia, dedicated to eliminating housing discrimination through education, counseling, advocacy, enforcement, and trauma-informed services. You can help by volunteering in FHRC's Housing Ensures Living with Dignity (HELD) program.

Annually, FHRC’s small staff helps hundreds of people in housing, serving vulnerable residents, including people with disabilities, families with children, veterans, and single women. Their housing experiences often go unnoticed yet can result in real harm without intervention. FHRC’s strength lies in listening to and acting on behalf of those whose dignity has been compromised.

While FHRC addresses individual housing discrimination cases, its broader impact is preventing institutionalization, homelessness, and displacement among disabled people, poor families with children, veterans, and single women.

FHRC relies on government funding, rooted in the need to remedy past housing policies that were unequal. Since the Fair Housing Act of 1968, this support has helped make fair housing services possible.

Today, government funding no longer covers the entire cost of FHRC’s broad fair housing services, especially as the affordability crisis strains both clients and FHRC.

To address the affordability crisis, FHRC is cutting costs and now seeks your help as a volunteer.

Through the HELD program, you can work with the CEO, and the Administrator & Programs Specialist to increase access to fair housing services. Your support directly helps individuals and families remain in stable, discrimination-free homes, protects residents from harm, and ensures dignity in housing.

Here are ways that you can volunteer at FHRC:

Scan records

Input data entry

Track inventory

List and contact vendors

Revitalize the GoFundMe campaign, increasing funds available so more clients can receive free services and advocacy to protect their housing rights.

Return phone calls

Join us today and make a real, lasting difference in the lives of those who need it most. Your commitment is vital to keeping people housed with dignity—take action now.

Step forward as a volunteer and be the reason someone finds or preserves safe, fair housing. We are counting on you—your involvement can change lives. Thank you for considering this opportunity to make a tangible impact.