St. Louis aldermen heard urgent public testimony on Thursday as tenants, legal-aid attorneys and housing advocates pressed the city to fully fund its Right to Counsel eviction-defense program and fix operational gaps that advocates say have left renters unserved.

Dozens of residents said the program, passed two years ago, remains underfunded and unable to meet demand following a spring tornado that displaced thousands. "If not for an attorney who would have advocated for me without payment, I would have faced eviction," said Chloe Brewer, a former 10th Ward resident displaced by the May 16 tornado, who asked for immediate funding of $2,500,000 and a dedicated long-term revenue source. Multiple speakers repeated that $2.5 million figure as the scale needed to staff a functional program.

The hearing collected detailed operational testimony from the two nonprofits supplying legal representation and the Department of Human Services (DHS). Daniel Buran, program director at Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, said the program has handled 385 legal cases and served 367 unduplicated client households through September 2025, representing 462 adults and 311 children, and reported $386,720.68 in client savings for the period. Buran said providers began "throttling" intake within weeks of launching because limited staffing made it unethical to accept more cases than they could handle.

"Right to counsel works," ArchCity Defenders attorney Will Krueger told the committee, describing eviction court as fast-moving and high-stakes: "Eviction cases take about two weeks as required by state law," Krueger said, and without representation tenants frequently lose by default.

Legal providers described current staffing as roughly two full-time attorneys funded under the city contract and less than one full-time equivalent of paralegal/support capacity. Buran said the existing contract's funding levelabout $685,000 total over two years according to testimonysupports roughly two attorneys and 0.43 FTE of paralegal/administrative support. Asked what $2.5 million would buy, Buran said it could support a "15-attorney strong program" with supervising attorneys, additional paralegals and intake staff.

DHS Deputy Director Valerie Russell and program coordinator Edna Jackson said the department handles outreach logistics: they receive monthly court dockets from the court clerk, prepare and mail the required notice packets to people on the eviction dockets ("anywhere between 400 to 600 a month," Jackson said), staff a court table several days a week and take hotline calls when capacity allows. Russell said coordinator costs are currently paid from the DHS budget while the legal-services contract has been funded with ARPA dollars that expire in July 2026.

Aldermen pressed DHS on several operational points required by the ordinance, including: whether the program coordinator had worked with tenant organizations as Section 7 of the ordinance requires; why the department had not done broader marketing; how quickly DHS received monthly dockets; and how often mailed notices are returned as undeliverable. Russell acknowledged limitations and agreed to meet with advocates and providers to identify fixes; she told the committee DHS will include a sustainment request for the program in the FY27 budget submission.

Advocates and several aldermen urged nonbudget steps that could improve outreach at low cost, including requiring city-funded properties to post Right to Counsel information and adding standardized notice language at the time of service or on court summons. Legal providers cautioned that marketing without increased funding could generate demand the program cannot meet.

Organizers read a coalition demand letter asking the city to "commit to a permanent funding source" of at least $2,500,000 annually, enforce the ordinance requirement that landlords inform tenants of the Right to Counsel at service of eviction notices, audit and enforce the program coordinator's obligations, and publish program outcomes.

The committee took no votes. A procedural motion to adjourn was moved and seconded at the end of the hearing.