If you own a home in Philadelphia that you live in, you qualify for Philadelphia's Homestead Exemption which will save the average homeowner $1,400 on their real estate taxes every year.

The deadline to sign up and receive a discount on your 2025 taxes is December 1st!

You only have to do the paperwork once to continue to receive the Homestead Exemption every year. Call us if you need help!

LIHEAP Delayed, Utility Assistance Programs

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, is a winter assistance program that provides cash grants of $200 to $1000 to help Pennsylvania families pay their heating bills. This program usually operates from November to April each year, when heating bills are higher.

But due to the government shutdown, the funds used to provide LIHEAP have been delayed with a hopeful start date of December 3rd, 2025.

In the meantime, PGW and PECO have promised not to shut off power for anyone enrolled in their utility assistance programs.

Read this month's AHCOPA blog to learn more about utility assistance programs, as well as tips and tricks for lowering your heating bills this winter!

AHCOPA provides free housing counseling to help you get mortgage ready and access down payment assistance grants!

Take a First Time Homebuyer Workshop and Learn:

• About the homebuying process
• How to shop around for the best mortgage
• How to budget for success
• How to access grants for a down payment


For example, Philly First Home offers $10,000 in down payment assistance and can be combined with other programs!

Next Online Homebuyer Workshops:

Saturday, December 6

10 am - 2 pm

Saturday, December 13

10 am - 2 pm

Protect your loved ones.

Protect your home.

Protect your generational wealth.

Our Will Workshops teach you how to write a will and what types of questions to ask yourself.

We provide support to make sure you get the documents done!

We have two online workshops scheduled and five in-person workshops across the city!

Next Online Will Workshop

Wednesday, November 19

​​​6 pm - 7 pm

Wednesday, December 17

6 pm - 7 pm

Check out the full list of December Will Workshops.

1,000th Will Celebration

A Celebration of Community Care

"We're not just celebrating 1,000 wills signed. We're celebrating trust, we're celebrating partnership, and most importantly, we're celebrating community."

-- Derrick Thomas, Will Power Program Manager

On October 15, AHCOPA and Community Legal Services of Philadelphia hosted a celebration to mark a major milestone in the Will Power program -- the 1,000th will signed.

During the event, we heard from community partners, a client who received her will, elected officials who support the work, and we enjoyed some locally baked cupcakes from crumcakesandbakes.com.

Thank you to our amazing partners, to the elected officials who honored our team, and to Zion Baptist Church of Philadelphia for hosting the event!

A special thanks to Aaron Moselle from WHYY and Michaelle Bond from the Philadelphia Inquirer for their stories on the Will Power program!

AHCOPA is excited to welcome Kimberly C. Rogers as our new Deputy Director!

Kimberly has over 15 years experience in non-profit leadership, is a HUD certified housing counselor, and previously served as the Director of Counseling at Clarifi.

Kimberly is a passionate advocate for economic justice and is dedicated to creating equitable systems that expand opportunity, build wealth, and strengthen communities.

"I'm a Star Trek fan who believes that leadership, like the best captains, requires both courage and curiosity. In the words of James T. Kirk, 'I don’t believe in the no-win scenario'."

Welcome to the Team!

The AHCOPA Team wishes you and your loved ones a very Happy Thanksgiving. May we all take time to reflect on the community and people we are grateful for, and how we can contribute to the greater good during these challenging times. Be Well!