Who Do Evictions Really Affect?
image from Unsplash
Each month in Greene County over 2,200 evictions are filed with the courts against the tenants of Springfield. Based on housing data from the U.S. Census that equates to 5% of the cities being forced out of their homes every month. To make matters worse because Missouri is a state that allows for “At-Will” evictions, not all of these filings are for just reasons. This isn’t an issue that affects only low-income residents but poses a threat to anybody who rents in Missouri, and with only 10% of Springfield tenants receiving legal representation many people don’t have the means to have an accurate and just outcome in court.
That’s why STUN has been working to bring Right to Counsel (RTC) to Springfield, and give the people of this community to fight back. In preparation for this STUN has been coordinating a volunteer court watch program and gathering data to help show the leaders of Springfield that victims of evictions are families caring for children, people living with disabilities, seniors, and people who did absolutely nothing wrong. As a prelude to the full court watch report we can look at the effect Right to Counsel has had on the Kansas City area, and the data that has been found about who is affected by evictions the most.
In 2023, Kansas City began their Right to Counsel program. At its inception, tenant representation sat at 3% and almost every case ended in a default judgement in favor of the landlord. In many cases people didn’t even have the financial means to be able to take off work to attend their own trials. Landlords claimed that RTC would drive up rental costs because it would clog the courts with cases that would have the same outcomes anyways. Claims that are echoed by Springfield Apartments and Housing Association (SAHA). However, reality painted a different picture for Kansas City. Post RTC tenant representation has risen to 45% with the full need not yet being able to be met. The number of overall evictions filed in Kansas City has dropped as of May 2026, and judgements have fallen from 99% in favor of landlords to 50.9%. Showing that RTC had positive impacts for tenants across every metric and helped to drive down court loads, and that not every person facing eviction needed to.
In Springfield, one recent example of this is Rosewood Estates and Cedarwood Terrace. If you have followed recent STUN activities you may be familiar with these cases. But for those not, these complexes are affordable housing units whose tenants faced evictions when new owners decided to try and convert them into luxury developments. The residents of these complexes are low-income, senior, and disabled residents who hadn’t violated anything. Another startling census statistic is that 40% of victims of evictions are children. Meaning with 2,200 evictions filed each month around 900 families are having their lives upended while trying to provide and care for their children.
Post-Covid Springfield was at an all time low for evictions, but over the past few years that number quickly jumped back up to the national average. We know it doesn’t have to be this way. Help us keep our friends and neighbors safe by fighting to give Springfield tenants the Right to Counsel so that every family and citizen can have peace of mind that our court system will be balanced and fair.