Today the Housing Justice League launch it's new tenant leadership development training series which will take place every month at a different apartment complex and include smaller trainings in between each month based on the needs of each complex.
The first training was help at City Views at Rosa Burney in historic Mechanicsville. Resident leaders and new tenants came together to learn how to strengthen their tenant association and how to connect with other tenant associations to win victories around better HUD contracts, better living conditions, and stronger affordable housing policy in the city. The trainings are open to any tenant that want to begin the process of building or strengthening a tenant association of tenant union.
If you are a tenant that would like to receive training there are two ways to go about it. You can message the Housing Justice League at HousingJusticeLeagueATL@gmail.org about attending the next scheduled training, or you can inquire about hosting a training at your complex. This service is provided by the Housing Justice League at no cost. Now more then ever Atlanta needs a tenant movement to combat rising rents and unbridled development.
This past weekend American Friends Service committee was proud to support and participate in a retreat with Occupy Our Homes Atlanta and the newly formed SMP Housing Justice Movement. SMP stands for Summerhill, Mechanicsville, and Peoplestown. The retreat brought together longtime resident fighters from Occupy Our Homes Atlanta and tenant leaders from newly formed tenant associations in Peoplestown, Summerhill , and Mechanicsville.
The focus of the retreat was building a stronger structure to build power in neighborhoods surrounding Turner Field. Tenant leaders took time to build a mission statement, organizing principles, a code of conduct, and an organizational structure.
The retreat also created space for folks to build stronger bonds with each other, sharing stories over meals and around the campfire, and sharing hopes and dreams for the future of the communities we're fighting to preserve. The communities surrounding Turner Field have the cities eye of development squarely fixed on them. Atlanta intown neighborhoods have seen massive development which has brought mass displacement in places like the Old 4th Ward, Kirkwood, and Reynaldstown.
A drive through parts of the Turner Field Communities would tell most that development could be a good thing, in fact most residents would like to see positive development in their communities but not if that means they have to leave. Atlanta needs to find a way to develop without displacing the very folks that have been holding it down for generations and we know it's possible. Gentrification isn't just racist development, it's lazy development that strips a community of its flavor and history.
We're inspired that a group of tenant leaders are stepping up to lead their fight, a fight that could change the way our city is developed in the future, a fight that could challenge the status quo of development deals that benefit a few rich folks and hurt are cities most vulnerable. AFSC is proud to be in their corner and look forward to supporting the housing justice movement soth of I-20.
The SMP Housing Justice Movement is hosting a meeting this Thursday October 15th, attendance is encouraged.
This week tenant leaders from multiple apartment complexes came together to learn how to organize tenant associations across the Peoplestown, Mechanicsville, and Summerhill communities. We were excited to the room absolutely packed with residents ready to organize against what some see as the coming displacement that often comes with big development or low income communities and build strong tenant associations that have the power to improve their living conditions. It's not only exciting that tenant associations are emerging in these communities, they're emerging together as a rising tide.
The room was absolutely packed and clear next steps were made for each complex represented. AFSC has partnered with Occupy Our Homes Atlanta over the last two years to a listening project designed to launch organizing work that's informed and led by residents. The tenant organizing project is one of the results. By the end of the year we hope to see seven new tenant associations in the three neighborhoods, two have already formed!
Issues raised by tenants included black mold, deplorable conditions, poor treatment by property management, retaliation for individual attempts to organize from property managers, and displacement of long term residents. Despite that fact that there is still a degree of fear of retaliation from property management, it was exciting to hear that when residents act as a collective , as was the case recently with Boynton Village, they win!
AFSC is exciting to continue to support this important work as the eye of development becomes more and more fixated on the Turner Field neighborhoods.
If you are a tenant that would like to receive training there are two ways to go about it. You can message the Housing Justice League at HousingJusticeLeagueATL@gmail.org about attending the next scheduled training, or you can inquire about hosting a training at your complex. This service is provided by the Housing Justice League at no cost. Now more then ever Atlanta needs a tenant movement to combat rising rents and unbridled development.
