They had every chance.

Between January and May of 2025, I submitted six formal letters to City Hall. I wrote the Mayor...twice. I contacted the Civil Rights subcommittee. I addressed the Planning and Economic Development subcommittee. And finally, I notified the entire Springfield City Council.

Each letter followed proper protocol. Each one was rooted in state and federal law. I was not ranting. I was reporting. Documenting. Warning.

I documented harassment and retaliation by the Springfield Housing Authority (SHA),
Violations of the ADA and the Fair Housing Act, SHA's refusal to accommodate my disability; Witness intimidation and racial slurs; Illegal home entries and destruction of property; A public health crisis from a neglected bedbug infestation; and a court process that treated me as disposable.

The Mayor acknowledged one letter with a deflection—the rest — silence.

I wrote these letters not just as a tenant, but as someone who has served this city, helped form tenant unions, advocated for the disabled, and spoken on behalf of those with epilepsy and trauma. I followed the rules. I went to every door I was told to knock on. And each time, the door stayed shut.

This isn't just about me. This is about how Springfield leadership treats its disabled residents, its whistleblowers, its survivors, and its truth-tellers.

They knew.
They had time.
They chose not to act.

So now this story is public and federal. This petition is no longer a request. It's a record.

If you believe public servants should answer when warned,
If you believe the truth shouldn't die in a clerk's inbox,
Then share this. Read the letters. Ask why no one wrote back.

Rev. Richard
Disability & Tenant Advocate