Just a few weeks ago, Charlene Samuels, Constituent Services Representative for City Council Minority Leader Kendra Brooks, got a desperate call from a woman who was about to become homeless.
The constituent had been living in the same apartment for a few years when her landlord told her he had sold it, and that she’d have to move out by April 30. The woman, who has three young children, didn’t know how she would find an apartment so quickly.
She also knew, however, that isn’t how Philly’s laws work. Here in Pennsylvania, if your lease doesn’t have a “lease termination due to sale” clause (most don’t), then the new owners are required to uphold your lease due to PA’s Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951. Landlords need legal reason — like tenants failing to pay rent, moving out, or violating the lease agreement — to evict someone, and they need to give 15 days written notice (or 30 days for a multi-year lease). You can’t just stop by and tell your tenant to move out because you sold the property.
So, Samuels called the landlord and explained to him why he couldn’t just evict his tenant. “I don’t care if he is selling the property. There are still laws and regulations around how you evict a person,” she says. “Most people are not just sitting on $5,000, $6,000, where they can just jump up and move.” The mother was grateful someone stepped in to help her navigate the system, so that she and her family could get the time they needed to figure out the next steps for their housing.
“I really want to advocate for people — the less fortunate, the looked over, those who don’t have a big mouth like me.” — Charlene Samuels
These are the kinds of situations Samuels intervenes in every day as a constituent services representative. Her job is to help people who may not be able, or know how, to advocate for themselves. Since 2016, she’s worked in constituent services, first for former City Councilperson Helen Gym, and now for Brooks, where she has fiercely fought for Philadelphians and tirelessly upheld our City’s laws. Gym was and Brooks is an At-Large Councilmember, meaning they serve the whole city, not just a particular district. Samuels’ work is why she’s one of The Philadelphia Citizen’s 2025 Integrity Icons.
Integrity Icon is a program The Citizen has run in partnership with the nonprofit Accountability Lab since 2020. The goal of the program is to shine a spotlight on city workers who uphold the highest standards of integrity — helping to inspire others to do the same. The Citizen will be honoring Samuels, along with this year’s four other winners, at a party on May 22 at Fitler Club Ballroom.(All are welcome, but you must RSVP in advance here.)
From volunteer to constituent services superstar
Samuels came to work in city government after years in nonprofits, first as a volunteer while she was a stay-at-home mom while her daughters were younger, and then as an employee.
She worked at a children’s aid nonprofit for 15 years and was thinking about a career pivot. At church one day in 2015, her pastor asked everyone to write down something they wanted God’s help to achieve this year. She wrote that she wanted to work within City Council. She wanted a job where she could make a difference in people’s lives.
“I just wrote it down, put it in an envelope, and sealed it up,” Samuels says.
Soon after, Samuels helped organize a City Council candidate forum for the Logan Civic Association, where she’s a chairperson, and met Helen Gym. Gym was so impressed with Samuels’ work that she called her and said, “If I win this election, come and work for me,” Samuels recalls. And in 2016, after Gym won, that’s what Samuels did, working in constituent services until Gym left City Council to run for Mayor in 2022. Samuels then shifted to Councilmember Kendra Brooks’ office.
Keeping Philadelphians housed
As a constituent services representative, Samuels helps residents access city services that are available but often cumbersome.
“I really want to advocate for people — the less fortunate, the looked over, those who don’t have a big mouth like me,” she says. “I’m in this position, under our City Councilperson, where I can help move some of those things along.”
The vast majority of the concerns that come through the constituent services office are related to housing. People have challenges with tangled titles — where someone rightfully owns a home, but their name isn’t on the deed — or they might come in because their apartment needs repairs and their landlord has gone AWOL. Or, they might be looking for help applying to programs like the Basic Systems Repair Program or the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program that help people make necessary repairs or afford utility bills.
“She’s who we listen to about how to make change.” — Kathleen Melville, Kendra Brooks’ communications director
She uses city databases to track down absentee landlords and will call them if they don’t have a proper rental license or lead certification. She teaches tenants how to put their rent money in escrow if a landlord isn’t making the needed repairs.
“She is basically an expert on all those things,” says Kathleen Melville, Brooks’ communications director. “She’ll make direct phone calls to people she knows in the city agencies to get clarity. She will call family members.”
While in Gym’s office, Samuels impressed volunteer Mary Greenway with her dedication to helping constituents solve their problems. She wouldn’t just direct them to the right people to call or the right application. Instead, she would call the services herself and then help constituents through.
Shaping legislation
It might seem exhausting to spend your days looking through government data, tracking down people who don’t want to cooperate — or even respond with hostility — when you ask them to follow municipal laws, but for Samuels, it’s about helping others. One of the cases she worked on in Gym’s office was helping an older woman get back her house after a man stole it from her by forging her name on the sale documents.
“You’re holding people accountable and allowing people to know that we’re watching you. You’re not getting away with this,” Samuels says. “It was a process, but you best believe she got her house back.”
Her work has helped shape legislative priorities. Brooks is known for her housing work, and Melville says Samuels will share interactions with constituents, which has shaped some of the policies Brooks is putting forward, like her proposal to make the eviction diversion program permanent, which passed last year.
“[Samuels] has been a voice in terms of meeting with stakeholders to refine the program and make it more effective and successful,” Melville says. “She’s who we listen to about how to make change.”
Correction: A previous version of this post misidentified the resident of the property whom Samuels helped.
PREVIOUS INTEGRITY ICON CELEBRATIONS
