Red Emma’s

Baltimore is a city of renters. More than half of households in the city rent their housing. Half of us who rent are paying more than 30% of our income to pay for housing, and one in four of us are paying more than half of our income just to keep a roof over our heads. We have some of the least affordable rental housing in the country according to median income, and for many of us, safe, affordable housing is out of reach. The housing that is available to us at a price we can barely afford is often riddled with habitability issues: mold, pests, lack of heat or hot water, leaking pipes, faulty wiring.  Each year, 150,000 Baltimore families struggling to afford safe housing—overwhelmingly black women—are summoned to walk through “the eviction pipeline” at Baltimore City rent court, and as many as 7,000 of those families are ultimately evicted.  A recent report by the Public Justice Center and Right to Housing Alliance shows how court processes and efficiencies divert renters from deserved justice in Baltimore City’s Rent Court. The results of the study are a launchpad for the 7,000 Families Campaign to transform the court from a culture of debt collection to one of justice.  Come learn about the 7,000 Families Campaign and what we are doing to ensure safe, adequate, affordable housing for all, and to find out how you can get involved!  Panelists include Jessica Lewis, organizer with Right to Housing Alliance; Zafar Shah, Staff Attorney with the Human Right to Housing Program at Public Justice Center; RTHA members and 7,000 Campaign Supporters