This past fall marked the 10-year anniversary of the start of the financial crisis. Fueled by risky, subprime mortgages with predatory terms, the financial crisis and ensuing recession was the worst economic disaster in the United States since the Great Depression. Unemployment climbed to 10 percent nationally and 12 percent in Philadelphia. Between 2007 and 2015, approximately 7.5 million homes were lost to foreclosure, affecting an estimated 19 million people. In Philadelphia, foreclosures peaked in 2009, with approximately 8,500 foreclosures filed in that year alone.

As Philadelphia continues to experience a boom in housing construction and as prices in many neighborhoods climb ever higher, it can be easy to forget that we are only recently emerging from a crisis in which thousands of Philadelphians lost their homes. The anniversary of the financial crisis provides an important opportunity to reflect on the impact of the foreclosure crisis and how we can make sure every Philadelphian has a safe and affordable place to call home.