HOUSING JUSTICE
TRANSFORMING LIVED EXPERIENCE TO ADVOCACY
Many young people at Kite’s Nest have experienced the pressures from a lack of affordable housing. They have experienced evictions, being displaced from a neighborhood with friends and family, seeing their friends displaced, and living without a home. Kite’s Nest Youth are channeling their lived experience into activism and advocacy—they are calling for housing justice.
When young people have the opportunity to take the lead in addressing issues that impact them directly, the results are transformative for everyone. Youth organizing supports young people to heal and grow, shifts public narratives and discourse, and creates lasting change in our communities.
HOUSING JUSTICE RALLY
On August 6, 2020 young people from the Social Justice Leadership Academy led a march to ensure housing justice for our communities. Leading up to the march, the teens researched state-wide housing policies, created flyers, reached out to their communities, wrote chants, designed signs, and organized the Housing Justice Drum Corps. They invited community speakers, shared their own stories of housing insecurity, delivered powerful speeches, and led the community in chanting: What side are you on? We’re on the freedom side! We believe that we will win!
The teens marched with a clear set of demands:
to demand an extension of the eviction moratorium in New York State
to cancel rent for the remainder of the pandemic
to regulate short-term rentals in Hudson
to house houseless people
to make Hudson affordable for us to live and grow
The march came a day after the end of the New York State coronavirus eviction moratorium. Soon after the march, the eviction moratorium was extended to October.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FORUM WITH CONGRESSMEMBER DELGADO
"Today we're here to talk about affordable housing, housing justice, and housing rights. I encourage everyone to tell their story today, so our Congressman, Antonio Delgado, can get an idea of how crucial it is for there to be more and better housing in Hudson." - Mia, age 15
On September 7, 2019 Kite's Nest Youth Organizers Mia Justiniano and Dezjuan Smith collaborated with Congressman Antonio Delgado to host a Youth Forum on Affordable Housing. Dozens of teenagers and adults showed up to share their stories with Delgado, to ask questions, and to propose ideas.
Dezjuan introduced the youth forum, describing housing as a youth issue: "I'm sure that a lot of youth can agree that it is hard to uphold high expectations of being a student in the education system when you don't know if you have a place to stay when you go home, or if you're going to be able to stay in this town."
Mia spoke to the crowd about her own experience of eviction and housing insecurity in Hudson. If more laws had been in place to protect tenants, Mia explained, "I would still have a home."
After telling her own story, Mia invited others in the room to share their experiences, including youth participants from Operation Unite, the Hudson Area Library, and the Youth Department. People told stories of eviction and displacement, of increasing rents in Hudson, and the trauma caused by housing instability.
Mia and Dezjuan also used the forum to share information and resources about tenants’ rights. "Most importantly," Dezjuan told the crowd, "this event is a learning space" — for the youth and adults in the room, and for Congressman Delgado.
As Kite's Nest teenagers speak up and step up as community leaders, they're doing so with passion, curiosity, and creativity. "You can always count on young people to ask the best questions," said Congressman Delgado.
Housing Justice In the News
Youths lead rally for housing justice
Register-Star
Aug 7, 2020
“A rallying cry could be heard throughout Hudson on Thursday, calling for housing justice and a ban on evictions as the COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread.”
Led by young, Hudson march calls for fair housing
Columbia Paper
Aug 13, 2020
“I want to feel secure in Hudson without the fear of being kicked out of the city where my family has lived for generations.”
Congressman Antonio Delgado Newsletter
September 25, 2019
“During my in-district work week focused on affordable housing, it was important for me to hear directly from the communities affected, including young people. At the end of the week, I held an open forum with young people from Kite’s Nest – an organization empowering young people and teenagers in the area with afterschool and leadership activities.”