Springfield Tenants and Advocates Demand Right to Counsel at Town Hall on Evictions
Springfield tenants and advocates are taking action against the city’s eviction crisis, pushing for a Right to Counsel to level the legal playing field for renters. At a town hall on Saturday, February 22, 2025, at the Schweitzer Brentwood Branch Library, tenants shared firsthand accounts, housing experts outlined policy solutions, and organizers issued a call to action. Hosted by Springfield Tenants Unite alongside Councilman Brandon Jenson, Community Partnership of the Ozarks, Ozarks Alliance to End Homelessness, Legal Services of Southern Missouri, and Empower Missouri, the event urged city leaders to join the national movement ensuring tenants have legal representation in eviction court.
Left to right: Lana Garcia, Forensic Program Coordinator, CoxHealth; Stacey Vellez – Housing Specialist, Preferred Family Healthcare; Emily Fessler – Continuum of Care Coordinator, Ozarks Alliance to End Homelessnes; Paula Greene – Senior Attorney, Legal Services of Southern MO; and Vee Sanchez – Affordable Housing Policy Manager, Empower Missouri. Photo Courtesy Rex Ybañez.
The List of Speakers:
Seth Lee – Impacted Tenant and SGF Housing Justice Fellow
Brandon Jenson – Zone 3 City Councilman
Sarah Barnts – Tenant Union Network Organizer, Springfield Tenants Unite
Stacey Vellez – Housing Specialist, Preferred Family Healthcare
Emily Fessler – Continuum of Care Coordinator, Ozarks Alliance to End Homelessness
Paula Greene – Senior Attorney, Legal Services of Southern MO
Lana Garcia – Forensic Program Coordinator, CoxHealth
Vee Sanchez – Affordable Housing Policy Manager, Empower Missouri
The event kicked off with Tenant Union Network Organizer Sarah Barnts as the master of ceremonies. Seth Lee, a new tenant leader from Empower Missouri’s 2025 Housing Justice Fellowship, shared his experience with eviction after their introductions. “No tenant should have to face eviction alone,” Lee said. “I was 13 or 14 when my mother was evicted from her government-assisted housing, and she faced multiple problems with housing after that.”
Sarah Barnts, Tenant Union Network Organizer at STUN, was the master of ceremonies for the town hall. Photo courtesy Zachary Atticus Stockton.
Springfield faces nearly 2,400 eviction filings each year, displacing an average of 1.8 families per day. Despite the life-altering consequences of eviction, there is a stark disparity in legal representation—70% of landlords have attorneys in court, compared to just 10% of tenants. This imbalance leads to wrongful evictions, exacerbates housing insecurity, and increases homelessness in the community.
Vee Sanchez, Affordable Housing Policy Manager from Empower Missouri, then spoke before the Town Hall Q&A. “I’ve been researching eviction and right-to-counsel policies as well as other policies around homelessness and finding solutions on how we can get people housed.” She went on to mention how excited she was to open real conversations about right to counsel happening in Springfield.
A Right to Counsel program ensures tenants receive legal representation, reducing wrongful evictions, increasing court efficiency, and stabilizing families. Cities implementing such programs, including Kansas City, Toledo, and Cleveland, have seen fewer evictions and greater housing stability. Kansas City reported a 72% drop in evictions within three months of launching its program in 2021.
After all representatives shared their expertise and insight into evictions and homelessness, Councilman Jenson was the last speaker.
“I’ve been incredibly proud to have been partnering over the last six months with many of the folks [representing partnering organizations] to draft the ordinance that’s going to show up on the council agenda on Monday,” he said. “It’s been a lot of work. There’s still more work to do, but this is a really meaningful step to address the issues that you all shared and we all heard today.” Jenson then recounted quotes from various speakers, concluding the town hall with powerful words: “Nobody becomes homeless without first losing their home.”
Tenants and allies in the crowd of the recent Right to Counsel Town Hall held at the Schweitzer Brentwood Library in Springfield, MO. Photo courtesy Zachary Atticus Stockton.