Homes For All St. Louis

WHO WE ARE: Homes For All St. Louis is a Black, Renter Led housing justice and advocacy organization that works with and for renters and tenants in the city of St. Louis. It came into formation in 2018 with the initial founders of Homes for All St. Louis, organizing and educating themselves to advocate for better living conditions. The tenant leader(s) is the primary organizer, and receives training in campaign and strategy development, power analysis, the tenant organizing framework, organizing skills, landlord-tenant law, fair housing practices, political curriculum, and healing modalities. 

Our work falls in these buckets:

Hotline Support

Tenant Organizing + Leadership Training

Policy + Legislation 

Legal Support + Empowerment

Utility + Energy Burden Advocacy

BRIEF HISTORY: HFASTL has worked with renters at Fountains at Carondelet formerly Southwest Crossing where tenants formed Southwest Crossing Tenants Association and went on a rent strike against infamous slumlord T.E.H.Realty. Their fierceness contributed to the receivership of the property and with striking tenants faced with evictions they continued to draw national attention to the handling of their demands of the property's conditions. One tenant won in court against the receiver which set precedence--other striking tenants won in court and beat eviction. Chesterfield Mobile Home Park's landlord died and the family wanted to sell. Tenants campaigned, resulting in their property not being sold. Homes For All St. Louis initiated an eviction moratorium phone banking and letter writing campaign for City and County during the onset of COVID-19 resulting in the implementation of an eviction halt set by presiding judges.

CURRENT WORK: In addition to working with tenants to organize, Homes For All St. Louis also provides free legal and advocacy training to St. Louis metropolitan renters via a Renter Hotline, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic we were able to reduce the number of renters evicted and displaced during a time of mass evictions, economic downturn, and a soaring health crisis. The hotline has expanded hotline hours during the weekends, and evenings, & continues to be crucial in how we are able to connect with tenants on several issues.

Over the past year we have been able to provide input based from our field and hotline work to push and advocate for housing policy and legislation in the city of St. Louis. We have seen Right to Counsel, Rental Registry, and Safe Temperatures in Rentals  pass along with the Tenant Impact Fund bill passing out of HUDZ committee. Each of these bills/ordinances can put us on a trajectory for better conditions for renters and tenants. We will continue work with the board around other housing legislation that has either been introduced or is coming down the pipeline.

Lastly, HFASTL, along with Human Impact Partners, the Vacancy Collaborative, and The City of St. Louis conducted a geospatial analysis of sociodemographic factors, housing quality indicators, and health outcomes for 29 residential zip codes in St. Louis. The purpose of this research is to share and contextualize residents’ stories alongside health and housing quality data in St. Louis, and to present solutions that City stakeholders can pursue to ensure a healthier St. Louis. This report is called Home Is Where Our Health Is.

We will continue our work for tenant power and better tenant protections across the city because everyone deserves safe, affordable and dignified housing and HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT for each and every one of us.

We have a goal of 5K!

Thank you in advance for your support.