Summer Lab - House
There’s a QVS House in your city because many people have worked to make it happen. Local Friends have filled your house with furniture and stocked your pantry with food. Every summer, while the House is temporarily vacant, local Friends prepare the House for your arrival. Previous Fellows have shaped the space as well, adding warmth and functionality.
Because there are different expectations in each city, talk to your Coordinator about how and when it’s appropriate for you to communicate directly with the landlord about a concern. This is rare and any maintenance issues should be shared with the Coordinator or SLA as soon as possible.
The Admin Coordinator pays utility bills as they arise and works with your Coordinator to make sure QVS meets the expectations placed on us by local regulations and the rental agreement.
Everyone involved in the process wants the House to feel secure and comfortable for you and your Housemates. Please talk to your Coordinator if there’s anything you need.
Because QVS is responsible for the House, we may need to access the property without providing you advance notice. We’ll do our best to give you plenty of warning and to respect your privacy.
Many Hands
“There’s no place like home.”
Quaker Voluntary Service is committed to social justice and anti-oppression work. QVS houses are often located in or near marginalized neighborhoods. We hope you’ll take some time to learn more about the local history and the social dynamics that have shaped life in your part of the city.
We also hope you’ll work to become members of the community where you live, building trust and solidarity with your new neighbors. Be mindful of how your presence in the neighborhood may play into larger patterns of gentrification and racial inequity.
Be a Good Neighbor
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The Philly house is in Mantua which is a neighborhood in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located north of Spring Garden Street, east of 40th Street, south of Mantua Avenue, and west of 31st Street. The neighborhood's northern and western reaches are predominantly working-class and African American, although its south borders with Powelton Village. The Mantua library branch was renamed the Charles L. Durham Free Library in 1995.
The land used to belong to the Lenni Lenape Indians and was sold to a colonizer in 1677. The area was named Mantua in the early 1800's and up until the 1940s it was a predominantly white neighborhood. White flight happened in the 1960s and the poverty that followed was soon followed by violence. In the 1980s Mantua was ground zero for the crack epidemic in the City of Philadelphia and while crack began to fade in the 90's, it has had a lasting impact on blocks and communities in Mantua to this day.
It is estimated that between 500 and 1000 college-aged students are living in Mantua. This growing number of students has brought renewed interest to the Mantua community from the expanding university system to the south. Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania being nearby helped to start the wave of gentrification as an influx of Drexel University and University of Pennsylvania student renters found the low-cost living affordable to them in the 2000s. A lot more gentrification has already happened and continues to be on the way.
Security
You are responsible for securing your own property and taking appropriate precautions to avoid theft or loss of property. The insurance held by QVS only covers those items owned by QVS. We encourage you to engage in conversations with your housemates about what safety/security looks like and means for each of you.
Adherence to the rental agreement restricts your use of the property.
You may not have pets of any kind in QVS housing. Well, the Boston Fellows acquired a pillow in the shape of a pug one year. So let’s say no living pets are allowed.
You may not smoke in the QVS house. This restriction applies to all tobacco and marijuana cigarettes, e-cigarettes, pipes, etc.
QVS Fellows are responsible for mowing the grass, snow removal, and other upkeep of the property. Some Houses feature a garden, which is either extra work or a therapeutic pleasure (depending on your perspective). Please talk to your Coordinator/SLA about the specific expectations.
To reside in a QVS House, you must be a Summer Lab Resident. Depending on the circumstances involved, someone removed from Summer Lab may be required to vacate the house immediately.
Rental Restrictions
In an emergency, it’s important to know how to shut off all power, gas, and water to the house. An LSC member or your Coordinator can show you the location of each shut off valve.
If you’re not sure whom to contact when something in your House needs to be repaired or replaced, please contact your Coordinator. In some cities, your Coordinator or a member of the Local Support Committee may be your primary point of contact. In other cities, Fellows are expected to contact the landlord directly. No matter who’s listed as your primary contact, please make sure your Coordinator is in the loop.
Repairs
As a House community, you’ll need to make decisions about your shared space. These decisions may be part of your Community Covenant.
At what temperature will you set the thermostat? What are your expectations about someone inviting a guest? Do you expect the House to be quiet after a certain time?
What are your expectations about sharing a bathroom? How will you divide the chores so everyone is doing an equitable share of the work?
Creating clear expectations will help some people feel less anxious. Finding a way to honor different preferences is a practical way of showing mutual support.
Shared Expectations
No matter how you divide the general housekeeping responsibilities, always make an extra effort to clean up after yourself. To avoid attracting pests, make sure dirty plates don’t accumulate in your room. Swipe hair from the shower floor when you’re done. Each time you take a small action to address a little mess you’ve made, you save someone from getting stuck with a bigger, messier job down the road!
This will not always be the case, but most often, your QVS House has been and will continue to be used by other QVS Fellows and Summer Lab Residents. We ask you to be a steward to the space and resources within it, with a lens of maintaining and leaving a special place for the groups of Fellows and Residents in future years.