Marilyn Lee
Regional Housing Legal Services
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I have always known poverty can be an incredible handicap. Before working at Regional Housing Legal Services (RHLS), I was familiar with various consequences of poverty such as poor nutrition, inadequate education and debt. However, I had never considered the effect of poverty at the negotiation table.

Even though my primary work responsibilities were researching and writing a memo on inclusionary zoning and a property-acquisition manual for community development groups, RHLS attorneys Mr. Damewood and Ms. Coyne brought me to various meetings with their clients to meet and learn about the people who could be impacted by my work. During these meetings, I witnessed community development groups and low-income individuals negotiate with developers and city government officials in order to secure safe housing and revitalize distressed neighborhoods. Accompanying the RHLS attorneys to these meetings was a valuable experience because I learned how poverty can be a handicap at the negotiation table and an incredible barrier to redevelopment.

Negotiation is an integral component of city development in Pittsburgh. Each neighborhood intends to further its own economic interests and preserve the value of its homes. Unfortunately, furthering these interests can come at the expense of another neighborhood. For example, Alleghany County’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) intends to expand a city homeless shelter, currently located in an affluent neighborhood. While expansion was the goal, the neighborhood home to the shelter decided relocation was a better one. Leveraging Alleghany County’s reliance on their property taxes and political support, the affluent neighborhood persuaded the URA the homeless shelter would be better suited in the poorer neighborhood. This neighborhood has been in decline for 50 years, dwarfed by section 8 housing, and is currently struggling to redevelop and revitalize. Relocating a homeless shelter into the already distressed neighborhood would create an even deeper concentration of poverty and deter the community’s attempts to restore value in its neighborhood.

Regional Housing Legal Services is the legal counsel to the community development group of this distressed neighborhood. RHLS attorneys are unique advocates of social justice because they achieve social justice by empowering their clients to be the champions of their own cause. While the legal profession is stereotypically overrun with large egos, RHLS lawyers are refreshingly humble, positioning themselves as the resource rather than the crusader in this uphill battle.

Without usual bargaining chips like financial or political support, the distressed neighborhood and RHLS must utilize less tangible ammunition at the negotiation table with the URA. Their bargaining strategy relies on federal fair housing laws, city development principles, and compassion. Poverty forces these struggling neighborhoods to be more creative in their political persuasiveness and more determined to overcome unlikely odds.

Witnessing RHLS advocate for socially just policies and lend legal expertise to impoverished clients has been a wonderful learning experience. I have a greater understanding of the challenges faced in redeveloping an aging city and the need for advocates of the poor. Social justice advocates play a crucial role in development, ensuring the poor receive the benefits of redevelopment instead of becoming a casualty.