Zachary’s story begins in Topeka, Kansas, where he was born into a world shaped by poverty and housing insecurity. For Zach, housing justice is deeply personal. His parents divorced shortly after he was born. So he, his younger brother, and two older sisters primarily lived with his mother in Central Topeka, a neighborhood dotted with beautiful but crumbling homes.
His mother, a woman with an enormous heart, worked for the very slumlord who rented out their deteriorating house. She wasn’t just a tenant — she was part of the system, cleaning out homes after tenants were evicted.
“We’d see people get thrown out on the street all the time,” Zach remembers. “But our house was a safe place. Our home became a refuge for other kids in the neighborhood, many of whom stayed for extended periods when their own housing situations became too unstable.”
While the community was tight-knit, the weight of poverty was inescapable. His family shared resources with their neighbors, even lending out their lawnmower when others couldn’t afford one. But the reality of bad housing was ever-present.
“The windows in our house were broken for years,” Zach recalls. “The landlord had the means to fix them but didn’t prioritize it. It wasn’t until my mom spent her own money on air conditioning units that they had proper cooling, but she never saw her renter’s deposit returned.”
Zach’s father, who had moved in and out of various rentals, faced even worse conditions. His homes were plagued with pests, the maintenance was subpar, and rent increases came without warning.
“He moved into a house infested with roaches,” Zach says. “The landlord did the maintenance himself to cut costs, but it wasn’t good work. My dad’s motorcycle was also stolen twice because there wasn’t even a garage.”
This unstable foundation for secure housing followed Zach through his young adult life. After dropping out of college in Kansas, he moved to Chicago, where he continued to experience housing challenges. Living in Facebook sublets, he struggled to find a stable, affordable place. Eventually, he moved in with his aunt, only to be kicked out soon after.
“It’s interesting,” he reflects, “how growing up in poverty changes how your brain works. You learn to live in the moment because everything feels so temporary.”
For Zach, this instability wasn’t just about housing — it was about survival. Accessing social support like food stamps or housing vouchers was a bureaucratic nightmare, often taking months. His family worked long hours just to scrape by, each person clocking between 50 and 80 hours a week. Despite their efforts, housing security remained elusive. Today, his mother is technically homeless, living with Zach’s sister while searching for a job and a place to live.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Zach admits. “She’s worked so hard all her life, but now she’s the one without a home.”
Zach’s experiences have made him deeply empathetic to those living in poverty, and they’ve fueled his desire to be part of the solution. Now an English major at Drury University, Zach sees his education as a tool to fight back against the systems that have oppressed him and so many others.
“I feel like I know how it feels to be silenced — both metaphorically and systematically,” he says. “It’s not just about unsafe housing; it’s about how the most vulnerable people are over-policed and neglected by those in power.”
Though he currently lives in student housing, Zach is passionate about joining Springfield Tenants Unite, a grassroots organization fighting for tenants’ rights. He’s seen the same patterns of homelessness and brokenness in Kansas, Illinois, and now in Springfield, Missouri. He wants to help the union build power and volunteer as a reporter and writer for the email newsletter each month.
“I’ve watched people lose their homes because of landlords who don’t care,” he says. “I’ve seen people evicted for no reason, rents raised without warning, and families left nowhere to go.”
Now, he wants to help others who are going through the same struggles.
“I want to be part of the solution,” he says. “It’s not just about me — it’s about all of us who’ve lived through this. I want to ensure no one else has to go through what my family and I did. I want to help others tell their stories. If we remain silent, we cannot win”
As Zach prepares to work alongside Springfield Tenants Unite, he carries with him the lessons of his past — lessons learned in the broken homes of Topeka and the crowded apartments of Chicago. As he steps into the fight for housing justice, he knows that his voice, shaped by years of lived experience, will help amplify the stories of others who have been silenced for too long.
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