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My name is Stephanie Hensley. I’m a leader with KY Tenants. I’m a singer. I’m a sports fan. I’m a great cook. I’m a mother to Serenity, Wayne, and Hailey. I’m a fighter.

For most of my life I’ve been unhoused. In 2021, we lived at the Salvation Army. It was dangerous living in a shelter during the pandemic. I’d smuggle in food so we could have a quick dinner. My children ended up getting COVID, but we made it through.

We moved into an apartment in a building with a federally backed mortgage. We were finally going to have something of our own, a place to sit down and eat dinner together as a family. I looked at my daughter and told her: this is our home. We’re going home.

But there was no electricity when we got there. Our food went bad. We didn’t have air conditioning. We didn’t have furniture. We filled garbage bags with our clothes to sleep on.

The walls grew mold. We got sick. My 18 month old was sweating so much from the heat and puking from the mold. Like Bennita, I TOO had a heart attack. Our landlords are giving us heart attacks. Our landlords are giving us heart attacks.

We had to leave. We moved into a hotel room for three months. Four of us in one room.

Eventually we found an apartment. We just got a notice that the rent would be hiked from $840 to $1,000.

I am devastated and pissed. My kids deserve to know that we’ll be sitting at this dinner table next year and the year after, but we can’t afford to stay.

My daughter asked: Mommy, where are we going to go? I don’t have an answer.

My story and millions like mine are why we need

Rent regulations: Protect tenants from and limit egregious rent hikes.
Good cause eviction: Prohibit evictions without good cause, ensuring every tenant has the right to a lease renewal. Good cause is defined as serious and repeated lease violations provable in a court of law.
Ban source of income discrimination: Prohibit landlords from discriminating against tenants based on their source of income including federal housing assistance (i.e., vouchers).
Freedom from discrimination: Enforce existing laws that prohibit landlords from denying a tenant rental housing based on race, physical or mental ability, and family make-up, and expand protections to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, immigration status, conviction and/or arrest history, bankruptcy history, eviction history, or credit score.
Safe, quality, accessible housing standards: Require all landlords to keep their properties in good condition, and to ensure homes are accessible for people with disabilities. No renter should have to live in an inaccessible home or in housing conditions that put their health and safety at risk.
Landlord registry: Tenants should have access to information about their landlord including their name and phone number.
Tenant right to organize: Tenants have the right to form tenants’ unions or resident councils free from fear of retaliation from the landlord or managing agent. Ownership and management representatives must not interfere with the creation or actions of tenant organizations.
Fair leases: Landlords must use standardized and clearly defined leases free of abusive terms.
Office of Tenant Protections: A team charged with protecting tenants and enforcing their rights in properties with federally backed mortgages.