HUD Tenant Washington DC Conference

Help send tenants in low income project based Section 8 buildings to the Housing Justice Conference in Washington, D.C. June 16-19, 2018. This is especially important at a time like this when HUD is calling on increasing rents for the poorest of the poor tenants. Voices need to be heard!

Our goal is to take tenants who live in project based Section 8 buildings in Detroit to the National Alliance of HUD Tenants (NAHT) conference in Washington DC and to raise funds for further organizing efforts in Detroit.

The NAHT conference is hosted annually in Washington, D.C.; in attendance are tenants, tenant organizers, HUD officials, and others involved in the preservation of affordable housing in Detroit. The conference consists of tenant-led workshops that give HUD-tenants and organizers the opportunity to share organizing strategies and to network with other tenants doing similar work across the country. Our goal is to have as many tenants in attendance as possible.

The United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) is a host site for AmeriCorps VISTA, where VISTA’s work on the VISTA Affordable Housing Preservation Project (VAHPP). UCHC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, which has provided comprehensive housing assistance to Detroit’s low-income residents for over 40 years.

The VISTA project (VAHPP) allows VISTA tenant organizers to work with low income project based Section 8 tenant associations throughout Detroit to organize their properties and address ongoing concerns - from  pest infestations to repair issues to poor management and fears of displacement. Our goal is to send up to five tenant leaders and one UCHC tenant organizer to the conference.

The National Alliance of HUD Tenants - NAHT (www.saveourhomes.org) is a tenant formed and led alliance of HUD multifamily building tenants and tenant organizations from all over the country. NAHT advocates for 2.1 million lower-income families living in HUD-assisted multifamily housing and organizes to preserve and improve affordable housing, protect tenants’ rights, empower tenants, promote resident control and ownership, improve the quality of life in HUD-assisted housing and to make HUD accountable to its constituents; HUD tenants.

 The money raised here will cover the cost of:

•           Round-trip airfare from Detroit, MI to Washington D.C.

•           Conference Registration.

•           3 nights of lodging during the conference.

•           Meals during the conference.

•           Ground transportation to and from the conference.

•           Ongoing tenant organizing in Detroit, MI.

Your support for Detroit tenants is important because:

•           The NAHT conference is the only conference run by HUD tenants for HUD tenants.

•           The City of Detroit is more 50% renters, meaning that the majority of the population does not own their home.

•           The eviction rate in Detroit is higher than twice the national average.

•           Building a strong renter movement in Detroit is a necessary step toward preserving affordable housing.

•           You would be helping to ensure that HUD tenants from Detroit are represented in the national conversation around housing and tenant justice.

•           Detroit’s low-income renters are at risk of displacement and will benefit from networking with other tenants from across the country who are organizing in their communities.

•           Tenants can’t afford any of the traveling cost.

Thank you for your support!