“What do we want?!” ——- “Repairs!”
“When do we want ‘em?!” ——- “Now!”
The chants of public housing tenants filled the air as we piled into every inch of Seattle Housing Authority’s (SHA) Rainier Vista office in south Seattle. In both English and Somali, tenants shared painful stories of living in housing conditions that harm their safety, health, and dignity.
After consistently being ignored as individuals, tenants decided to boldly turn in their maintenance requests together and demand repairs & healthy public housing.
Right now, it has never been more clear that we need healthy public housing that will weather all the storms ahead. With all of the threats that our community is experiencing – the rollback of tenant protections, continued displacement and rising rents, attacks on our community’s humanity by the federal government, and the ever-growing fires and floods of climate change, working-class Black and Brown communities in southeast Seattle will continue to experience
many storms.
This is why Got Green is organizing with public housing tenants to fight for healthy public housing – starting with demanding that SHA fully complete their backlog of hundreds of unfilled repair requests. For the past two years, Got Green has been deeply listening to the stories and struggles of public housing tenants in south Seattle – through door-knocking, house visits, workshops, strategy discussions, and more. Hundreds of conversations have affirmed that public housing
communities are powerful and public housing must be defended. It is unacceptable that public housing tenants have waited often months & years for repairs, living in unhealthy conditions such as mold, broken appliances, leaks, and more. All landlords are legally responsible for providing homes that are habitable. SHA’s failure to consistently maintain and provide repairs violates basic tenant protections and demonstrates that they are not living up to their mission of creating “safe, affordable, and decent housing.”
The ability to weather storms begins with having a healthy place to live. Public housing tenants deserve healthy housing with consistent & complete repairs and be treated with respect and care.
On Thursday (March 6th), a strong contingent of tenants marched into SHA’s Rainier Vista office, chanting, holding signs, and having one another’s back. They submitted repair requests, while sharing their stories of how a lack of repairs is impacting their lives and affecting their health. Refusing to accept excuses from the SHA’s Rainier Vista Property Manager, tenants stood firm in naming we are done waiting and demanding that SHA complete their repairs.
One tenant has waited three years for repairs to their leaking kitchen sink, which makes a mess underneath their cabinets. They cannot use the sink as a result, and the leaks can lead to mold and other health hazards. Another tenant has submitted ten work orders for their roof that leaks water onto the carpet, which poses a risk for mold and people slipping, particularly for the daycare they run. Even after all the work orders, no repairs have been made. Someone else has submitted three work orders for their broken fridge. They aren’t able to store food safely and it impacts their ability to cook at home for their family. This is just a sampling of the many unhealthy living conditions tenants are experiencing and the lack of response from SHA to making the needed repairs.
The compelling show of tenant power at the SHA office demonstrates the strength tenants have when they come together and fight for what they need to lead healthy and dignified lives.
We envision healthy public housing that will nourish people and the planet. Right now, we are fighting for repairs that will not only improve the health, safety, and well-being of tenants and their families, but repairs that also center the dignity of public housing workers and the
broader community.
Public housing must weather the storms ahead. SHA’s public housing must care for tenants, treat them with dignity, and provide them with a healthy living environment to withstand these storms. Completing these repairs is the first step towards making our homes, communities, and planet healthier. We will continue organizing and building power with tenants to fight for healthy housing.