By WLRN News Staff
More than 40 interfaith congregations in Miami-Dade County will convene Monday night to demand local and state elected officials address two key issues: the shortage of affordable rental housing and the “unnecessary” arrests and driver’s license suspensions of residents with unpaid fees and fines.
More than 1,100 people are expected to attend the annual PACT 2024 Nehemiah Action Assembly at Barry University, beginning at 7 p.m. PACT stands for “People Acting for Community Together.”
Among the government officials expected to attend, according to PACT 2024 organizers: Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava; Miami Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins; Miami-Dade County Police Director Stephanie V. Daniels; Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts Juan Fernandez-Barquin; Miami-Dade County Chiefs of Police Association Carlos Noriega; Miami-Dade Public Defender Carlos J. Martinez; James McCall, Program Manager, and Cordella Ingram, Principal Planner, Miami-Dade County Public Housing and Community Development.
Others invited, say PACT organizers, are Miami-Dade County Commissioner Raquel Regalado and Miami-Dade County Public Housing and Community Development Director Alex R. Ballina.
The assembly will include testimonials from those impacted by high rental housing and arrests driver’s license suspensions for “non-safety related driving offenses.”
Citing the latest United Way report, PACT organizers say single female-headed households are “most cost-burdened” demographic group in Miami-Dade, with nearly half their income going to pay for rent. The report also found the median income for a family of four was $59,044, far less than the $76,284 the United Way estimates is minimally needed to live and work in the county.
They also point out the Miami-Dade Driver License Task Force Final Report issued nearly two years ago that found an overwhelming majority of the 600,000 people with outstanding driver license suspensions — about 400,000 — were unrelated to the person’s ability to drive a car, but rather for failure to pay fees and fines.
When the report was issued in July 2022, Miami-Dade Commissioners approved legislation sponsored by Commissioner Higgins to implement the report’s extensive recommendations that included ways to make it easier for residents to pay what they owe.
“PACT is pushing local elected officials to enact policies to make affordable housing more readily available and to implement more effective enforcement strategies that do not lead to a permanent arrest record,” said organizers in a statement announcing Monday night’s assembly.
The PACT is especially critical of Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle for having “failed to act to reduce arrests despite myriad promises” and county officials for not doing more “to make affordable housing truly affordable for low-wage earners.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: The annual PACT 2024 Nehemiah Action Assembly. The assembly will call for action on (1) The escalation of unaffordable rents in Miami-Dade County and, (2) the continuing spate of drivers license suspensions and unnecessary arrests for non-safety related driving offenses due to unpaid fees and fines
WHEN: Monday, April 15. Gates open at 6 p.m. The program starts at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Barry University, Shepard and Ruth K. Broad Performing Arts Center, 11300 N.E. 2nd Avenue, Miami Shores, FL 33161
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