VICTORY: Yvette and Shaunda WIN FIGHT to stay in their Dorchester home!
Boston Neighborhood Community Land Trust successfully purchased 364 Harvard St, making the home permanently affordable.
Shaunda (left) and Yvette (right)
Housing is for people, not profit.
Yvette Moore and Shaunda Henderson, neighbors at 364 Harvard St in Dorchester, have won the fight to stay in their homes! After more than 2 years of persistence and determination fighting no-fault eviction as neighbors organizing against no-fault eviction, Boston Neighborhood Community Land Trust has purchased the 2-family house they live in, taking both of their apartments out of the speculative market and transforming them into permanently affordable housing. This is a major victory that inspires us all – as a movement, we can beat the powers of the real estate system that is designed against us, and put homes into the hands of the people who make our communities great.
Yvette and Shaunda’s fight begins in December 2022.
Let’s flash back to December 2022, when Yvette and Shaunda’s organizing fight starts: their landlord, Roberto, tells them they have to leave 364 Harvard, their home of 4 years. He wants them to vacate so he can sell the property (buyers prefer it empty). Yvette and Shaunda don’t want to leave their home and the Dorchester community. They have ties there, and they’ve given back to their community. Yvette and her son, Joe, both have medical conditions, so moving would be difficult and complicated. Nextdoor, Shaunda lives with her two grown children; they moved to 364 Harvard after fleeing a house fire caused by faulty wiring in their previous home. Shaunda has severe disabilities, including diabetes, gastric distress, and high blood pressure. Her daughter suffers from PTSD as a result of the fire. The threat of eviction increases all of their stress significantly, and makes their physical problems worse.
Yvette and Shaunda are both shocked by the eviction notice, because the landlord, Roberto, had assured them when they moved in that they would live comfortably and happily as tenants at 364 Harvard. Both Yvette & Shaunda have Section 8 vouchers through Boston Housing Authority. They pay their rent and respect and take care of the property. How can they be evicted?
Utilizing the Sword, Shield, and Offer strategy
Thankfully, Yvette is already connected to City Life/Vida Urbana (CLVU). As an active community member, she has been involved with CLVU and came out to support people facing foreclosure around the 2008 financial crisis. Now in her own fight, she works with CLVU Dorchester Organizer Antonio, and with Shaunda. They quickly utilize the signature CLVU Sword, Shield, and Offer methods. To use the sword, they form a tenant association, sign a public letter to Roberto urging him to find a buyer without putting them out of their homes, and put up the infamous “We Shall Not Be Moved” signs in their windows. Tenant associations across Greater Boston love these window signs because they make it clear to potential property buyers that they’re going to have trouble if they try to buy the building and push out the current tenants. In the case of 364 Harvard, the broker reports that the signs seriously discouraged some investors who went to an open house.
Creating an offer
While Shaunda and Yvette lead with the sword, CLVU is also working with the Boston Neighborhood Community Land Trust (BNCLT) to develop an offer, hoping BNCLT can purchase the building from the landlord and make it a permanently-affordable land trust property. But BNCLT has to compete with other offers in the speculative market. One investor looking to buy the house puts in an offer ($730K) that is higher than what BNCLT was expecting. Steve, an organizer with CLVU, quickly drafts a short letter to the broker breaking down in detail what the tenants want. The tenant association (TA) wants to make it clear what they are seeking:
5-year contract with rents limited to the Sec. 8 payment standard or below. This keeps the rent plus utility allowance from rising above 30% of the tenant's income.
When we fight, we win!
Then, in 2024, after 2 years in their fight against a no-fault eviction and for stable housing, Yvette & Shaunda get their victory by way of the BNCLT purchase! Yvette: “I tell others, don’t give up…come to CLVU, we’ll educate you, stand in solidarity, you’ll be able to help others and have others help you. You’ll feel comfortable and confident in your fight”. Shaunda recently joined the CLVU Leadership Team, saying “I feel so good knowing we can stay in Dorchester; the long fight was worth it”. Yvette and Shaunda’s solidarity, vigilance and courage will serve to galvanize community members facing no-fault evictions for years to come, for they are the embodiment of our slogan “When We Fight, We Win”! Yes, we do!
BNCLT’s purchase of 364 Harvard St. is the latest victory for social housing in the Boston area. Our movement for housing justice is at odds with the capitalist speculative housing market – we work to take homes out of that market and make them community-owned and affordable. We continue to push for rent control, foreclosure prevention, investment in social housing and affordable housing, so we can win homes for all.
Meridith of BNCLT and Antonio of CLVU will be planning a formal celebration to be held at 364 Harvard Street. Stay tuned for a date.
Story adapted from “WHATEVER IT TAKES, FOR HOWEVER LONG IT TAKES”by M. Antonio Ennis