Rehouse Richmond: Plan to Address the Eviction Crisis

Rehouse Richmond aims to recommend specific best practices and start-to-finish development of successful organizing strategies for anti-eviction work. The client for this plan, RISC, is an interfaith coalition of congregations across the Richmond region. Richmond has a compounding history of redlining, urban renewal, foreclosure crisis, and now evictions that has drained the wealth of its Black residents for generations. There is a wealth of academic literature indicating the prevalence of eviction as well as the people who are most vulnerable: rent-burdened tenants, and Black women especially with children. There are a lot of responses to the eviction crisis ranging from the local and state governments to the organizing community. The theoretical framework of this plan is the Just City since the recommendations are centered on justice. The methodology of this plan includes statistical analysis of the Richmond housing market characteristics and eviction rates, two case studies of interfaith community groups, and interviews with housing advocacy and/or organizing groups. The findings showed that there was a need for more collaboration among housing stakeholders, more political will, expanding anti-eviction efforts beyond the legal focus, and the commitment for dedicated, sustained funding for affordable housing and social services. The recommendations section includes goals, objectives, and actions that encourage collaboration among housing stakeholders, higher investment in affordable housing, and expanding focus of eviction crisis to systemic causes. The implementation section includes the timeline and stakeholders for each recommended action.