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The Faces of Eviction We Gathered the Community to Talk About Housing in KC

(Video: Michael Price | KCPT)
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In January, together with the Kansas City Public Library, we hosted a live public town hall to talk about evictions, gentrification and affordable housing in the metro. The standing room only-crowd heard from and asked questions of the six panelists, Tara Raghuveer, eviction researcher; Terrence Wise, community member; Jacob Wagner, co-founder of Center for Neighborhoods at UMKC; Gina Chiala, attorney and executive director at Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom; Chuck Schmitz, former president of Landlords Inc.; Dan Kelly, attorney; and host, KCPT Executive Producer Nick Haines.

In the video above, we hear from real people at the Jackson County Courthouse before their evictions proceedings. As part of our months-long project, Public Works? A Level Foundation, hear these voices and more when the town hall airs in Week in Review Special: Evicted in KC at 7:30 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 9 on KCPT.

Live from the Town Hall

Before the panelists took their seats, we were joined by Wagner and Chiala for a Facebook live event. Together with host Lindsey Foat, KCPT’s community engagement producer, they dug into questions posed to curiousKC by community members, such as “What legal protections exist for renters?” and “Can you improve a neighborhood without gentrifying it?”.

Flatland

We’re live at Kansas City Public Library with with two of tonight’s “Evicted In Kansas City” Town Hall panelists. They’re going to answer a few of your housing questions submitted through #CuriousKC….

 

Here’s some chatter around the town hall from social media. Follow the entire project here on Flatland and through #KCPublicWorks:

Twitter:

FlatlandKC on Twitter

Panelists at tonight’s Evicted in Kansas City town hall include Gina Chiala from @jobsandfreedom_, Terrence Wise of Evicted in KC, eviction researcher @taraghuveer, Jacob Wagner from @UMKansasCity, Chuck Schmitz & Dan Kelly former members of Landlords Inc. #KCPublicWorks

Leslie Scott on Twitter

Thrilled to have @NickHainesKCPT hosting Evicted in Kansas City. He always does a bang-up job. #KCPublicWorks

KCPT (PBS) on Twitter

No one wants to not pay their rent. It’s not a battle between landlords and tenants. It’s something we need to figure out as a community.” – Terrence Wise, a Kansas Citian who has been evicted #KCPublicWorks

KCPT (PBS) on Twitter

We have to remember that these statistics aren’t just numbers. They are people.” – @taraghuveer #KCPublicWorks

Ryan Hennessy on Twitter

Line of 10 for the #kcpublicworks panel. There have already been 20 or so eviction community questions/comments. @KCPT @FlatlandKC

It was a packed house tonight at the @kclibrary !! Panelists spoke about #kcmo evictions and the impacts they have on our community. #kcpublicworks . . . . . #nonprofit #philanthropy #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #awareness #housing #eviction #townhall

14 Likes, 1 Comments – ReDiscover (@rediscovermh) on Instagram: “It was a packed house tonight at the @kclibrary !! Panelists spoke about #kcmo evictions and the…”

Kellyann Jones on Twitter

41 percent of students in the @kcpublicschools have at least two addresses during the school year. Evictions affect #education and the stability of our students. It’s amazing the challenges our students overcome. #kcpublicworks

The turnout for tonight’s Evicted in Kansas City town hall at @kclibrary is incredible. If you couldn’t make it tonight, it will air on KCPT on Friday, Feb. 9 at 7:30pm. #KCPublicWorks #kansascity #kcmo #eviction #townhall #housing #kcmo

46 Likes, 2 Comments – KCPT – Kansas City PBS (@kcpt) on Instagram: “The turnout for tonight’s Evicted in Kansas City town hall at @kclibrary is incredible. If you…”

— If you have a story to tell or a tip for us, we’d love to hear from you. Tweet at us @flatlandkc and like us on Facebook.

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