SLUMLORD 101 A CHANCE VISIT TO 7900 BELL

A dilapidated, two-story chunk of brown stucco sits at 7900 Bell SE, east of Louisiana. There are no fire extinguishers in their cabinets; no locks on either courtyard gate. There are jerry-rigged A/C units hastily crammed into half-opened windows, wedged in place by particle board or plywood and tape or adhesive. And there are apartments with rusty sinks, permanently shattered windows, and threadbare carpeting, but no working water heater.

Back in May 2022, the UpLift Street Team was alerted to 7900 Bell when its tenants approached a colleague from the Violence Intervention Program (VIP) and informed him of an imminent mass eviction. Immediately after the Street Team visited, they confirmed the eviction notices, opened a case study on 7900 Bell, sought out its manager and owner, and contacted city, county, and police officials about the property.

By now, you’ve gotten a clear idea that there’s a crisis in housing going on. Housing inequities have been part and parcel of American culture since well before Reconstruction and well after World War II. Today, the headwinds residents of the ID face against tenancy and affordable living conditions include a