Oshuteiya Campbell

The Project

Teiya is representing tenants in Liberty City, a historically black neighborhood in the City of Miami with significant poverty, by preventing evictions and enforcing their right to safe and habitable housing as the community copes with redevelopment.

Liberty City is a historically black neighborhood in Miami. Forty-seven percent of residents live below the poverty line, many in horrible conditions. Mold, mildew, and vermin are prevalent. Structural deficiencies make living conditions inhumane and unsanitary. Liberty Square, which is located within Liberty City and is one of the oldest public housing developments in America, is undergoing redevelopment. This place-based project serves residents in Liberty City and Liberty Square by defending evictions, challenging uninhabitable conditions, and preventing displacement as redevelopment continues.

Fellowship Highlights

In the past year, Teiya has:

• Provided brief services and advice to 115 individuals, which included negotiating settlement agreements with landlords, resolving housing subsidy issues, drafting rent withholding letters to landlords who failed to keep homes in habitable conditions, providing pro se assistance to tenants involved in eviction cases, and providing assistance to tenants with affirmative claims against their landlords for prohibited practices such as the improper termination of electricity, water, and lockouts
• Held 39 community education and outreach sessions
• Established a satellite intake office in Liberty City to increase residents’ access to free legal services
• Became chairperson of the Rise Up Liberty City Coalition’s Know Your Rights and Housing Voucher Committees
• Oversaw the establishment of the Northpark at Scott Carver Resident Council, whose board is made up entirely of African-American women

Next Steps

In the next year, Teiya plans to:

• Establish weekly and recurring Know Your Rights seminars at a newly-opened courthouse in Liberty City
• Establish office hours at the newly developed Liberty Square resident center to ensure residents have access to legal services on site
• Meet with County officials to ensure smooth transitions for Liberty Square residents and continue a proactive approach to address redevelopment problems