On June 15, 2021, Housing Equity Now St. Paul (HENS) took a major step toward making housing history -- for the city and the entire state. 

Thanks to dozens of coalition organizations, hundreds of volunteers and thousands of residents, HENS organizers submitted more than 9,100 signatures to the Ramsey County Clerk to put rent stabilization on the ballot in St. Paul this November. While county staff must confirm that at least 4,958 of those are verified voters, campaign leaders are fully confident in the diligence and care taken during signature collection and fully expect to hit that mark.

Click here to watch the short press conference!

As a completely grassroots coalition, HENS has been humbled, but not surprised, by the way St. Paul has showed up in this initial phase of the campaign. Day after day, in still-freezing temperatures and record-breaking heat, volunteers stood on street corners, tabled at community events and knocked on thousands of doors.

We were grounded and inspired by the experiences, tenacity and love of our neighbors as we connected with tenants who have been displaced because of rent spikes; households who live in constant fear that their landlords will increase rents beyond their means; property owners who treat their residents with respect and dignity and want to see the same for all renters; homeowners who recognize that rent stabilization provides tenants the same stability they have with their mortgages; teachers who see every day the dramatic and disproportionate impact housing instability has on their students -- and countless other affirmations that this policy is needed and supported by a wide cross-section of St. Paul residents.

Yes, we were collecting signatures — but, more importantly, we've been building renter and community power. Together, we sparked a city-wide conversation on what it will take to create racial justice in housing and have already engaged more people than any city-led community outreach effort could to advance a rent stabilization ordinance.

So what's next?

Celebrate! Signature collection was just the first step but what an incredible accomplishment for a grassroots campaign powered almost entirely by volunteers — like you! Stay tuned in coming days for a volunteer appreciation party to mark this milestone in our campaign!

Spread the word! Once we're on the ballot, we'll need to mobilize at a city-wide scale to engage voters, dispel opposition misinformation and activate our neighbors to go to the polls! Take a moment to send the sign up link to three friends, family members or neighbors so we can continue to grow our movement!

Donate! We know our communities support this initiative, but we need financial resources to ramp up our capacity in coming months as we move into voter education and mobilization. Please consider making a donation today -- either through our donation portal or on ActBlue! 

Questions? Connect with us at [email protected]!