WADE RATHKE is the founder of ACORN, Chief Organizer at ACORN International, and Author of "Nuts & Bolts", "Citizen Wealth", "Global Grassroots", and "The Battle for the 9th Ward".
New Orleans Recently I was surprised to find that tenants in Maryland were legally able under certain conditions to withhold their rent to force their landlords to make repairs by following certain procedures. Living and working in red states in the South and elsewhere for so long had “blinded me to the light” …
Toronto As luck would have it, I had come to Toronto for the regular spring meeting of ACORN Canada’s lead and head organizers from around the country almost immediately after Toronto members had released their “State of Repair Report” based on a survey of tenants over progress of the RentSafe program in the city. …
Stoney Lake, Northern Ontario The last session of the night found me assigned with others from ACORN Canada’s western provincial offices in Calgary and Vancouver to discuss an upcoming ACORN National Day of Action around housing. One thing led to another, and we started all talking about what kind of protection tenants have when …