At 12:30pm Tuesday April 21st I was honored to take part in a press conference involving Dallas Area Interfaith and the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas to urge the Dallas City Council to allocate significant funds from coronavirus relief to rent support for lower income residents of Dallas. I was joined by our Roman Catholic collegues Bishops Burns and Kelly, United Methodist Bishop Mike McKee, Rabbi Kimberly Herzog Cohen of Temple Emanu-El, Father Luis Belmontes of San Juan Diego RC parish, and various members of local media (including the Dallas Morning News and Telemundo) and the City of Dallas.
Advocating for our neighbor is central to our Lutheran faith. Our city governments have the resources and responsibility to care for our neighbors utilizing faith based networks like DAI. These faith based organizations are trusted and have experience working with landlords and tenants to ensure our next epidemic isn’t homelessness caused by loss of income in this time.
Thankful for Pastor Jon Lee (retired, King of Glory, Dallas) who has been a faithful connector to DAI for many years keeping us connected. If you are a resident of Dallas please urge your city council to act to allocate significantly more funds than the $1 million currently considered. With almost 40,000-50,000 Dallas rental units (of 300,000 rental units in the city) under potential rent distress when eviction bans are lifted that amount is insufficient. If you are a resident of Dallas please contact your city council member and inform them of this need.
Ultimately this is about more than just Dallas as this reality will hit every part of our territory. Please be aware of the need and also be informed of what is happening in your community. #NTNL #DAI #InMissionTogether