The Greater Indianapolis Multifaith Alliance–abbreviated to GIMA–is a local organization of faith leaders from a wide variety of religious traditions. Those leaders have come together to collaborate on civic projects that serve the common good of greater Indianapolis–unlike the Christian Nationalists and other theocrats I so often criticize on this site, they are intent on making our city and state a fairer and more equitable place.
The organization is currently focusing on the city’s lack of affordable housing and the crisis in evictions, and it has produced a short video that focuses on–surprise!–the failure of the Indiana legislature to enact enforceable minimal protections for tenants whose landlords fail to provide even minimally-habitable properties, or refuse to make critically-needed repairs.(In all fairness, those abusive landlords represent a relatively small percentage of all landlords in the city, and are disproportionately out-of-state investors. But they cause a lot of misery.)
GIMA focused its efforts on this issue because of what it describes as the “current landscape” of the problem. Its website offers data that confirms the severity and extent of the barriers facing tenants who lack financial and legal means to hold those landlords accountable.
Housing instability, particularly evictions, is receiving its due attention in this critical moment because it’s nearing a full-blown crisis. According to Eviction Lab, Indianapolis is second only to New York in total evictions and Indiana is number one in statewide eviction filings since 2020. We recognize that there are several excellent non-profit organizations that provide direct services, as well as coalitions that amplify the voices and needs of those grappling with the impact of evictions and homelessness through advocacy. We also know that many congregations periodically collect food and clothing – and even temporarily house the homeless.
Those efforts are meaningful, but woefully inadequate to the scope of the problem.
Rather than offering my “take” on the issue, I encourage you to click through and watch the very short (just over 6 minutes) video.
And if you live in Indiana, call your State Senator and/or Representative and ask them to support SB 277–Senator Walker’s tenant repair fund bill.
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