Rent policies: the vision must be affordable housing for all

Tenants are part of our communities. Recent votes to stabilize rents in St. Paul and Minneapolis demonstrate that we do not want tenants to be driven out by soaring costs.

Now we need to adopt universal rent vouchers to ensure that people can pay their rent in the first place. It’s time for our elected officials to embrace Bring It Home, Minnesota.

As a resident and minister of Minneapolis, I had the pleasure of joining my neighbors in voting for stabilization of rents. Home is the basis of so much in our lives, and families need to be protected from unexpected rent increases. Through a powerful organization based on one-on-one conversations, we have come together to assert our vision of our city as a city where tenants matter and the system works for all of us.

City Council and Mayor Jacob Frey must act quickly and thoughtfully to adopt a strong stabilization of rents that reflects this vision.

Stabilizing rents is also part of the bigger conversation about what it means to be a state and a society where people can actually afford to live. Without the stability of affordable housing, our education, our health, our jobs, our civic engagement, our food security, our ability to provide for aging parents or young children, and everything we value and depend on is on. unstable ground.

Renters in all counties in Minnesota struggle to keep a roof over their heads. This crisis is urgent, growing and hurtful to the lives of people and the strength of our community.

The good news is, we know how to change that. Rent vouchers help low-income people find and stay in housing. Having a bond means that a family doesn’t have to pay more than 30% of their income for rent. It keeps rent affordable so budgets can stretch further. Families can start saving for a home, college, or rainy day fund. Children can get clothes that fit and healthy food. Older people can afford life-saving drugs. Rental vouchers allow people to stay in the communities they love.

I believe that paradise is not solitude: it is a city. In the final (metaphorical) view of our Christian holy book, people are not swept away. They are reunited. And those who have left come back. The door is always open. Everyone is welcome. The tears are wiped away. And the presence of God permeates the whole city. It is a vision of hope – and of home.

Lawmakers and Gov. Tim Walz’s administration must unite to adopt Bring It Home, Minnesota. It’s time to show that tenants really have their place in our communities. It’s time to be visionary, hopeful, and righteous.

The Reverend Sarah Campbell is a team leader at the Mayflower Community Congregational United Church of Christ in Minneapolis.