'Together We Can Save Our Homes'

"Good afternoon! Welcome to the second annual Southern Columbia Heights Tenants Union (SCHTU) Neighborhood Congress. Today is an important day in the life of our tenants union. We will elect our new officers, celebrate our victories--and they have been many--and set the agenda for the issues and problems we will take on in the coming year." With these words Shirley Hines, president of SCHTU, opened the November 20,1982 all-neighborhood congress.

Three years before, Shirley had felt a growing anxiety about the possibility of being evicted, an experience that had been repeated throughout her life. This fear, as well as the daily reality of her landlord's refusal to provide basic services had moved her to take initiative in developing a tenants association in her building. The association's efforts culminated last year in the purchase of the building by the tenants themselves.

Shortly after Shirley's association had been formed, it joined with other such groups in the Southern Columbia Heights Tenants Union, and at SCHTU's first annual congress in November, 1981, she was elected president of the board. For Shirley it has been a year of activity--serving as SCHTU's president, working with the Sojourners housing ministry as part of our staff, and emerging as a spokesperson for the tenant movement in the city.

Underlying all the last-minute activity of pulling the second annual SCHTU congress together and the expectation of seeing friends was an awareness of the disparity between the festive atmosphere of balloons and banners and the realities for the poor that brought us together that day.

Rachel Anderson and other tenants in her building have struggled for several years to get their landlord to comply with housing code regulations; more than 900 code violations were cited by city investigators in one inspection of the building. Some of Mrs. Anderson's children and grandchildren live in the building, and her concern for them adds to her motivation to continue working for decent housing.

The morning of the congress, Senora Sanders awoke to find eight representatives of the U.S. Marshall's office at her door, ready to evict her. Her landlord had successfully circumvented rent control laws, doubling her rent so that it exceeded her income.

While eviction may not be immediate for some tenants, it nevertheless looms on the horizon. Naomi Scott and the tenants of her building do not wake each day wondering when the marshalls will come, but they are living with the reality that they will lose their homes in the spring. Although the tenants receive among the lowest incomes in the neighborhood, after several years of hard struggle with their landlord, they were able to purchase their building last year--a dramatic victory. Renovation loans available through the federal government would have enabled the tenants to keep the building. But these funds were cut by the Reagan administration, and now the tenants cannot afford to maintain their building.

This tragedy touches close to us, since the Sojourners housing ministry/Southern Columbia Heights Tenants Union office is also a tenant of the building. But alongside the sorrow, hope has emerged in the form of a weekly prayer group and Bible study in which some of us on the housing ministry staff participate with tenants. The prayer group was initiated by Mary Glover, one of the building's residents.

These are just some of the stories of the people who came to the congress. We felt the excitement and curiosity as people filtered in, 150 in all, seeing new faces and meeting new friends.

In the "State of the Tenants Union Address," Shirley acknowledged ongoing problems and struggles and expressed goals and hopes for the coming year. She emphasized the need to work together with a common purpose to improve living conditions. With a sparkle in her eye and determination in her voice, she said, "When we stick together as a united neighborhood, we can save our homes. We will not be moved!"

After she introduced him to the crowd, Shirley was warmly greeted by the chair-elect of the city council, Dave Clarke. A tenant advocate in the past who had pledged his continuing support to the tenants, Clarke had received support and volunteer help from many of us during his election campaign.

The focus of the activity shifted from the podium to the crowd when people began to vote for candidates for the tenants union board. As the ballots were marked, there was a silence except for the rustling of paper. Then Naomi shared her talents on the piano, and it wasn't long before we began spontaneously singing hymns, such as "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms."

The excitement of our joining voices set the stage for the presentation of awards--a time of recognition and affirmation. Many individuals and building tenants associations received awards for their courage and commitment in their struggle. The applause reached its peak when Rachel Anderson received her award; many people from her building were present, and her family had come to share this moment with her.

Moving from celebration to commitment, we began the work of setting the agenda for the coming year. Senora had prepared to speak for a resolution on eviction, and to her resolve was added her morning's experience. The faces in the crowd were filled with awe and compassion at the reminder of how close eviction could be; Senora later received invitations for shelter and storage from other members of the tenants union. We moved on to the same resolutions we affirm year after year: getting heat and hot water restored in buildings, developing more building tenants associations, and working toward favorable local housing legislation.

The balloons are gone as we reflect on this now. The first board meeting is next week, the calls are coming in from people in unheated buildings, and others are getting ready to go to court to fight evictions. Once again these activities-fill our time and our lives. We wonder what struggles and changes this year will bring. One thing is certain: we'll still be "leaning on the everlasting arms."

When this article appeared, Gayle Turner was a member of Sojourners fellowship and worked with Sojourners housing ministry, and Bob Hulteen was an intern with the housing ministry.