Springfield Tenants Unite or STUN will host a town hall Saturday called “Our Rights, Our Homes, Our Future.” The event will focus on a tenant’s Right to Counsel.
Sarah Brants is STUN’s lead organizer.
""Landlords are almost always represented by attorneys in court — attorneys with professional expertise," she said. "Tenants very rarely have that access, and what we see is a complete imbalance of who maintains possession of the home."
She said Right to Counsel has been implemented in 27jurisdictions in four states. One of those places is Kansas City, Missouri where they’ve seen eviction rates drop.
"What we see when tenants have an attorney is settlements are negotiated, eviction records stay clean or are cleaned after a couple of years instead of 7 to 9 years," said Brants. "And when people are living with bad building conditions, there's always a response there in eviction court that forces the landlord to be accountable to their promise of providing a safe and habitable home."
Brants said they would like to see Right to Counsel for tenants implemented in Springfield. That would consist of an oversight committee that ensures the implementation of the program goes smoothly, tracks reporting and success measures after cases are closed and offers advice and proposed changes to attorneys working with the courts or the city staff that run the program. She envisions attorneys contracted for three years either through legal services or through the city.
The town hall will feature four speakers and is set for 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, August 29, at Resurrection Church, 545 S. Broadway.
"We want the tenants in Springfield to know that we got their back and that we are building a movement worth joining," said Brants. "And we want our city leaders to see that tenants really care about their housing and really care about their rights, and we want them to do the same."
