Those who rent apartments and houses in the Bowling Green area now have a resource they can use to protect their rights as renters. The “Barren River Area Renters' Handbook” is the culmination of an 18-month-long project organized by The Homeless and Housing Coalition of South Central Kentucky.
The handbook comes from information compiled from several legal sources, including Fort Knox legal services and Kentucky Legal Aid, according to coordinator Dana Beasley Brown.
Brown says they worked with several organizations to complete the project, including WKU-Glasgow sociology classes which collected stories from renters with bad experiences.
“They put together a curriculum for a workshop to accompany the handbook. Through this workshop, we’re able to engage renters one-on-one and sort of walk through some common problems that renters face and how to avoid them by learning how to look at your lease carefully,” said Brown.
The workshops will be available for local organizations and their members. The coalition says there are more than 67,000 renters in the Barren River area. The book is available in English, Spanish, Swahili and Arabic.
Funding for the renter’s handbook came from a community grant. Students from Warren Elementary provided the artwork for the book. The WKU Public Relations and advertising firm, ImageWest help format the book for printing.
Copies are available for free at the WKU ALIVE Center and will soon be available online.