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St. Louis tenants and lawyers press aldermen for $2.5 million annual funding for Right to Counsel as city officials outline capacity limits
Summary
Tenants, legal aid groups and advocates urged the St. Louis Board of Aldermen committee to fully fund the city—s Right to Counsel eviction-defense program at $2.5 million a year, while Department of Human Services and providers described limited staff, intake throttling and ARPA-backed contracts that expire in 2026.
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…
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