Tiki Tenants Organizing Committee
On April 5, over a hundred residents at the Tiki Apartments in Tacoma, WA were served notices that they would have only a few weeks to vacate the property or be evicted from their homes. In several cases, people were given as few as only 20 days – the legal bare minimum.
Allied Development, the new management company, is forcing people into homelessness so CWD Investments can remodel and rent out these apartments for massive profits, rumored to be more than doubling rents from $600 to $1250! But those able to return are being placed on a waiting list without guarantees. Several of the tenants are elderly, they are disabled or injured, have other medical issues, are on assistance, they are escaping domestic violence, and many have no where else to go.
Community allies and tenants called for a public meeting on Thursday, April 19 to address the crisis. Sympathetic coverage from the local news brought the story to the public's attention. Supporters immediately began organizing solidarity efforts to help the few tenants who have been able secure new housing to pack and move. We met with more tenants and doorbelled and fliered together, hearing our neighbors' stories and calling for action to turn out to the next city council meeting.
We gave it a name: Tiki Tenants Organizing Committee (TTOC) was formed on the spot, right there in the courtyard of the Tiki Apartments. We're a coalition of embattled tenants and their unwavering supporters. Much of our experience is shaped by our time in similar labor and civil rights campaigns. Many of us are new to housing justice work. But ours is an organizing model of "uncompromising and relentless" pressure on the city to meaningfully respond to the crisis, and community-driven mutual aid that immediately supports the tenants themselves.
We have two concrete needs and asks right now:
1) Sarah Howe, one of the Tiki Tenants, has only four days until eviction. That's her pictured above with her cat Miracle. She's still without a place to go, and we're rushing to secure safe and stable housing for her. She is blind, in a wheelchair, partially deaf, and on a fixed income. Her phone is going to be shut off tomorrow, Friday April 27, if we can't raise $262 to pay off her bill. That means she can't reach her caretaker or use her Lifeline, her emergency call button. We gotta keep that Lifeline on for Sarah!
2) This is a grassroots effort and like any movement, we need resources to do the work. There's printing costs for campaign materials, for fliers and buttons, banners and the like to get the word out and keep the tenants and their cause highly visible. Our first victory – forcing the city to act and draft an emergency ordinance – was secured because we organized and turned out our community. They saw us and they heard us. But that means there's transportation costs too. We need to secure ADA-accessible transportation each time we turn out at City Council and that ain't free.
We're not asking for much and neither are these tenants. For most, their most pressing needs are only enough money to move & more time to do it. Anything the community can do to continue to support the cause is appreciated. You can turn out Friday and Saturday from 8am-4pm and directly help the community. There's a yard sale tenants have self-organized to raise funds and help them move into better, more secure homes.
You can also start by following us on social media (fb: Tiki Tenants Organizing Committee & ig/twitter: @TacomaTenants) and turning out for the next action. Tonight, Thursday April 26 at Tacoma Council Chambers!
HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT.
WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?
For more coverage and testimony:
Matt Driscoll – "New Tacoma landlord to desperate tenants he's evicting: 'Moving will be an improvement'" (Tacoma News Tribune)
Matt Driscoll – "Crisis at the Tiki Apartments 'broke' the mayor's heart. Now, an emergency response is needed." (Tacoma News Tribune)
Jessica Oh – "Tacoma examining rental laws after evictions" (KIRO 7)
Brian Skiffington – "Building Tiki Power: Tenants Rights Campaign Underway in Tacoma, WA" (Medium, Tiki Tenants Organizing Committee)
Zack Pattin – "Housing Justice and Injustice in Tacoma, WA" (Medium, Tiki Tenants Organizing Committee)
