Across the Twin Cities, we’re seeing Minnesotans struggle with affordability. The cost of living expenses. And one of the biggest sticker shocks is the cost of rent. To combat the increase in costs, many individuals are pondering changing their living situations by moving in with relatives, getting roommates, renting out bedrooms, or even downsizing.
Many are pondering: Can I afford to stay where I am? But, you do not need to ponder all of this alone. Join Sahan Journal and Mixed Blood Theatre for a free live event filled with interactive storytelling, insights from housing advocates, and opportunities to share your experiences finding a home in Minnesota.
Alejandro Tey is a Cuban-American, South Texas-raised theatre maker, facilitator, and teaching artist whose artistic practice focuses on collaborative creation, narrative immersion, and participation: working with an ensemble to invite and guide audience into the role of protagonist. Tey is the Associate Artistic Director of Mixed Blood Theatre, through which he has led the process of Upstream, a participatory play about climate change for middle schoolers and their families; created discussion guides for the Equitable Dinners, a series of plays followed by facilitated conversation around complex topics; and co-directed (with Artistic Director Mark Valdez) The Happiness Gym, an event that turns the research on happiness into exercises for an audience aimed at improving well-being. Tey also directed the world premiere of Fallenstar: The Watchoverers, a play about Native teen superheroes produced by New Native Theatre, and the final sharing of Willmar, a verbatim play about the interlocking communities of Willmar, MN produced by The Neighborhood Theatre Project. Tey also trains facilitators for audience participatory works like The Compass and How to End Poverty. He is the creator of The Isle of Sugar, a hybrid roleplaying game/theatrical event based on his grandparent’s experience of the Cuban Revolution.
Sarah Carthen Watson is an experienced civil rights litigator with a background in fair housing law and policy advocacy. In her role at HJC, she represents tenants in landlord/tenant and fair housing matters, and works on a variety of local, state, and federal policy matters. She previously served as the Movement Lawyer for the Shriver Center on Poverty Law’s Legal Impact Network (LIN). Sarah guided the network’s legal advocacy strategies and engagement with people affected by systemic oppression. Prior to joining the Shriver Center, Sarah served as the Legal Director for the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center (LaFHAC). In this role, she supervised the organization’s range of enforcement and advocacy efforts to ensure fair access to housing for protected classes across the state of Louisiana. In addition to representing clients and LaFHAC in fair housing act litigation and administrative proceedings, Sarah supervised the organization’s testing and eviction defense projects. Sarah has also served as Associate Counsel in the Fair Housing and Community Development Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, where she litigated challenges to discriminatory housing practices, drafted several Analyses of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, and engaged in policy advocacy at the federal and state level. From 2018-2019, Sarah was the George N. Lindsay Fellow at the Lawyers’ Committee, where her fellowship project focused on nuisance and crime-free ordinances. Originally from Minnesota, Sarah received her J.D. and Certificate in Public Interest Law from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law and her B.S. in Education and Social Policy from Northwestern University. In her free time, you can find Sarah at a coffee shop, pottery studio, or the dog park with her furbaby Bodie.
Yusra Murad is a communications organizer at Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia (IX) and a doctoral student in public health at the University of Minnesota (UMN). In her role at IX – an organization that supports renters in transforming the housing system through organizing tenant unions, housing cooperatives, and advancing tenant protections at the city and state level – she works with members and organizers to develop campaign communications strategy and build narrative power. At scale, the goal of IX’s communications is to reshape dominant narratives about the housing system – reframing housing as a people’s issue instead of a commodity that seeks to turn a profit on human life. At UMN, Yusra’s research explores how narrative power and community organizing intersect with housing policy to shape population health. She has worked as a research assistant for the Collaborative on Media and Messaging for Health and Social Policy (COMMHSP) and the UMN Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA).