Hidden figures: Jordan Casey is an advocate for some of the most vulnerable in our community

Black History Month is about creating an intentional space for recognizing the contributions of African Americans to the world and to sing the praises of unsung heroes, both those from our distant past and those who walk among us today.

In that tradition, we recognize folks from our community who quietly do impactful work without fanfare. These leaders don’t seek the light but deserve to bask in our spotlight for their work creating positive change in our community.

One of those leaders is Jordan Casey.

Casey is a staff attorney with the Health, Education and Legal Assistance Project (HELP): a medical-legal partnership at Widener University Delaware Law School. Since 2016, he has been providing free civil legal services to women who are either pregnant or parenting a child under the age of two and enrolled into either Healthy Start and/or the Nurse-Family Partnership under The Foundation for Delaware County.

As a housing attorney, Jordan supports families in accessing the rights and remedies available to them through direct representation and consultation. His mere presence as an advocate for families tilts the traditionally imbalanced landlord-tenant power scale away from the landlord and back towards the tenant.

For vulnerable families facing eviction or advocating for better housing conditions, Casey is an ally on their side and someone who cares about what happens to them. By addressing housing as a social determinant of health, he helps the mothers in the HELP program achieve housing stability and consistency so they can focus their attention on maintaining a healthy pregnancy and raising their children.

In Casey’s own words:

“Housing is probably one of the most visible forms of inequity in our society at large and Delaware County is no exception. Inequity in Delaware County housing is a direct manifestation of larger social inequities in race, economics, and wealth. Our project has the ability to curb and course correct some of those inequities by working systemically to address these problematic policies in housing.”

Jordan has dedicated his career to legal services and cherishes his proximity to and ability to deliver high quality services to some of the most vulnerable in our community.

In addition to his direct representation of clients, Jordan seeks policy change through various housing coalitions and serves on the Affordable Housing Advisory Council of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, which advises the bank in carrying out its affordable housing and community investment missions.