Katie Prout2021-01-21T17:16:18-05:00December 29, 2020|
In Washtenaw County, mutual aid projects are providing housing and tenant rights support for renters as the end of the eviction moratorium looms
By Katie Prout
Washtenaw County, in southeast Michigan, holds two of four state universities and a not insignificant portion of Michigan’s wealth. Located forty-five minutes or so west of downtown Detroit, it includes both rural and urban areas, and the county seat, Ann Abor, is home to the flagship campus of the University of Michigan (U-M). Historically, visitors on any autumn weekend could see multigenerational tailgates and exuberant U-M students playing beer pong while a porch TV blared the Wolverines. This COVID autumn, people gathered in front of homes in Ann Arbor and neighboring Ypsilanti to shout, cheer, and protest for a different kind of defense: keeping tenants facing court-ordered eviction safe in their rented homes.