UNHOUSED PEOPLE HAVE UNIONIZED.

On January 28, 2021, unhoused leaders from across Kansas City came together in a park and decided to form a union. Nobody else that’s not walking in our shoes gonna tell us what to do. Teach us how to fish, and we’ll eat forever. The homeless have unionized, and we’re here for what we deserve.

At our first meeting, we discussed our demands. We are not satisfied with a warming shelter and some blankets. We need homes. We need water. We are targeting the City until we get what we are owed.

We need the City to divert resources away from band-aid “solutions.” We need real solutions, put forward by the people who are closest to the problem. Here are the demands of our union:

• We demand homes. With the millions of dollars we spend on shelters and services, we can house every unhoused person in the City. The City should convert vacant and City-owned properties into permanent homes for those who are unhoused.

• We demand jobs. Many of the vacant and abandoned properties in the City need renovations. Unhoused people can be employed in a City-funded program to bring those properties up to code.

• We demand water. The City controls the Water Department. Especially during this pandemic, we need water to stay sanitary. The City should guarantee showers, bathrooms, and handwashing stations for unhoused people.

• We demand a seat. The City is busy talking to everyone except us about what we need. We need a seat at the table. We need to be consulted about the policies that will impact our lives. The City should follow our leadership.

If the City is serious about addressing homelessness, this is what it’ll take. If the City is not serious about ending homelessness, the powers that be will continue doing what they’re doing: money to hotels, warming centers, handouts. Someone benefits from those incremental proposals. And it’s not us.

We tired. We’re not gonna go for it anymore. We are here and we are here to stay. We got a voice, and we finna use it.

KC HOMELESS UNION

Headquarters: 414 E 12th St, Kansas City, MO 64106

Phone: (816) 695-1538