ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Rising rent…non-renewal leases…evictions.
This is the reality many people are facing right now in the bay area.
On Wednesday, a coalition of community groups in St. Pete met to decide the best way to fight back. Alexa Manning has called St. Pete home her whole life, and now, as she struggles to keep her own home, she’s worried about her community as well.
“My biggest concern is, where are these people going to be able to live,” she said. “And where are people going to be able to afford to live?”
As rent rises across the bay area, but paychecks remain the same, this coalition of St. Pete community groups met to discuss the best course of action to put the heat on city leaders to make a substantial change in the housing market.
Community members at the meeting voted on their phones for what they felt might be the best next step. Choosing between a sit-in, march, vigil, or occupation — such as a tent city. The verdict?
They ended up voting to have a sit-in.
Group organizers like Brother John Muhammad from Florida Rising said they want to continue to meet with Mayor Ken Welch after opening a line of communication with him at a meeting last month.
“When we brought up rent control to the mayor, he said that it had never been a hard ‘no’ for him, and that he wanted to do the research,” Muhammad said. “He decided that currently, the energy and attention should be focused on things that won’t result in lawsuits from the state of Florida.”
These groups say they’re expecting positive change to be on the way, like a guaranteed right to legal counsel for someone being evicted. Neighbors like Manning just hope it comes before it’s too late.
“My community is totally dwindling down to the investors,” Manning said. “It’s going to be tough for a lot of Floridians to make it”
The coalition leaders say they have another meeting with the mayor that’s supposed to be later this month. They’re hoping to agree to some plans of action, and lay out a timeline to make those things happen.