As many of you know, the Labor Coalition occupied our former office space on University Ave. for more than a decade. When we vacated the property earlier this year, we had an unfortunate encounter with Nautilus Realty and were forced to seek legal aid. Ironically, an ACLC supporter had alerted us months prior that tenant abuse is rampant in Gainesville and we had already been in discussion with staff at Three Rivers Legal Services about a presentation on tenant issues for our September membership meeting. Gainesville is a community where close to half of all residents are renters. The encounter with Nautilus drove home for us how many low-income renters have few legal protections against the unjust and sometimes illegal actions of their landlords and we are interested in learning more about this issue.
Our friends at Three Rivers Legal Services often work with renters and have agreed to tell us more about their work in this area. Please join the Labor Coalition on for a presentation by Three Rivers’ LaKesha Thomas on Tuesday, Sept. 27th, 6:30pm at the Emmanuel Mennonite Church (1236 NW 18th Ave.). The presentation will get under way at 6:30pm, but pizza, drinks, and fellowship will be available starting at 6pm. Please RSVP for the event here on Facebook.
A short bio of LaKesha Thomas:
Ms. Thomas is a native of Gainesville, FL, born and raised right here in Alachua County. She attended Duval Elementary School, Howard Bishop Middle School and Gainesville High School, where she was the c/o 2000 class president.
She is no stranger to the difficulties facing the working class. She grew up with her family members in public and low income housing. Her goal became to become the 1st in her family to graduate from college. She achieved this goal in 2005, graduating from the University of Central Florida (UCF), in Orlando, in the top 12% of her class. She went on to graduate from FAMU College of Law and returned to Gainesville where she graduated from the UF LLM Tax Program in 2012.
Ms. Thomas is currently a staff attorney with Three Rivers Legal Services. Her sheer joy is volunteering with children and empowering her community through legal advocacy. She believes in reaching for the stars, because this way we will never stop growing, learning, and achieving our dreams.