On September 22nd, 2016 H.O.P.E. will join the National Renters Day of Action for Dignity & Respect to declare a Renter State of Emergency and take to the streets to demand an end to Rising Rents, Evictions and Gentrification.
Join us on Thursday, September 22nd at 1pm-4pm where we will hold a rally and host an action in solidarity with 40 other cities around the nation but with not only our brothers and sisters who live on our streets, in our shelters and in low income housing. Housing is the single biggest unaddressed civil rights issue in our city and that is going to change. After the action we will return to Morris Park and share a meal together in fellowship.We urge everyone to bring dishes, fruit and water to share.
Background-Local
WE BELIEVE THAT ACCESS TO SAFE, AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE SHELTER IS A HUMAN RIGHT.
Memphis has no free shelters for men, less than 70 beds for women experiencing homelessness, we have cases in some shelters where women are sexually harassed and access to shelter is tied to sexual exploitation. We have no shelter for the LGBT community and we have slumlords that economically exploit our people via taking their food stamps, work shelters which fail to pay a living wage and none of our shelters are 100% compliant with the AMERICAS WITH DISABILITIES ACT.
•We call on the city of Memphis to create a new city run, free shelter for people experiencing homelessness, that is fully compliant with the ADA and provides shelter without religious mandates and is open to all of our pe
•We call on the city of Memphis to enact an ordinance for minimum standards for all shelters including transparency and accountability to the consumer, ADA compliance new standards for sexual misconduct, standards for staff training and ethics and the creation of an oversight board within the executive branch made up of those currently and formerly unsheltered which will provide oversight into allegations of misconduct within shelters.
•We call on Mayor Jim Strickland to DELAY the demolition of Foote Homes until ALL residents of Foote Homes and the Warren and Tulane Apartments have been safely relocated to proper housing AND only after the promised 448 NEW units of HUD subsidized housing replacing Warren and Tulane are online.
BACKGROUND-NATIONAL
Check out the 2 Page Info sheet at bit.ly/RDA_Info
Now more than ever housing is unaffordable for millions of people. Rents nationwide are higher than they have been in history, evictions are at epidemic levels! Our communities can’t wait for affordable housing anymore. Working-class people, low-income, communities of color, immigrants and formerly incarcerated folks are bearing the brunt of this crisis as housing become even more unattainable and our cultures and communities are displaced.
As more and more of us become renters, and the crisis escalates – it’s time for the #RenterNation to stand up to declare our power and fight back for our homes, our cities and our communities!
In 50+ cities across the country we will take to the streets to end the epidemic of evictions, rising rents and displacement!
We call on renters, low-income homeowners, people without homes, families, unions, tenant associations, organizations and all people who believe that we need a culture and policies that prioritize housing as a fundamental human right to stand up and take action by the thousands on September 22, 2016!
Wherever you are. Take to the streets and fight back!
PLEDGE TO TAKE ACTION 9.22.16 AT: www.HomesForAll.org/
Download the #RenterPower Action Toolkit at: bit.ly/RDA_TOOLKIT
CITIES THAT HAVE COMMITTED TO ACTIONS SO FAR:
* Atlanta, GA * Boston,MA * Chelsea, MA * Chicago, IL * Seattle, WA * Spokane, WA * Harlem, NY * Brooklyn, NY * Lynn, MA * Long Beach, CA [2 actions] * Portland, OR * Oregon Statewide Action * California Statewide * Santa Rosa, CA * Oakland, CA * San Francisco, CA * Los Angeles, CA * Santa Fe, NM * Springfield, MA * New York, NY * Newark, NJ * Grand Rapids, MI * Nashville, TN * Memphis, TN * Detroit, MI * Denver, CO * Fremont, CA * Pittsburg, PA *