When community members come together on a common issue, their collective power makes things happen. Recently, 11 tenants met with our organizing staff because their rent had been stolen from a drop box at their apartment complex. This has happened before, but the landlord did not take steps to secure their rent payments and was asking for them to pay again.
In collaboration with tenant lawyers, we helped tenants draft a letter stating that it was the landlord’s responsibility to address the problem as they had done their contract duty of dropping their rent off where indicated. After discussing the stolen rent, other issues arose around repairs, safety, and respect which prompted the tenants to continue working together by putting together a joint letter about improving conditions at their complex to their landlord.
MI offers leadership training through multiple pathways that weave hands-on experience with curriculum that covers a variety of topics, including:
Hands-on experience is gained when community members come together to work on key issues and campaigns, including passing tenant protections, building tenant associations, and more.
For more information about leadership opportunities, contact Jennifer Morales, Community Organizing Manager, jennifer@monumentimpact.org.