Seated in the living room of her new rental home, former Omaha Public Schools board of education member Kimara Snipes reflects on the last couple weeks."My house, I just wasn't able to live in it anymore. A lot of issues with it," Snipes said. According to Snipes, her previous rental had fallen into disrepair after the owner ran into health issues, and Snipes needed to find a new home. "I had been looking for another place within my subdistrict," she said. Snipes ended up moving last month to an address, outside the boundaries of OPS Subdistrict 8. That meant, she had to step down from her school board seat. But Snipes said she didn't want to leave south Omaha. "I just wasn't able to find anything," she said. Snipes said there's simply a lack of affordable, safe housing, and while she felt uncertain about sharing her story at first, she wants to bring attention to something she calls a crisis in Omaha. "It's not my first time dealing with an affordable housing issue," Snipes said. "But now to have this happen, I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and so I feel like now's the time to continue to have this conversation. And to make it an extremely serious conversation." Snipes said she was lucky enough to have a friend who owns her new rental home, though she knows not everyone has the same support network. "I'm someone who's blessed enough to have a network to where I could find a home to live in, but what about all the people who don't have that option?" she said. "That's a part of your quality of life being able to have a roof over your head."Snipes has served on the OPS board for nearly three years, since January 2019. She's also president of the South Omaha Neighborhood Alliance and ran for mayor of Omaha in 2021.Snipes went to school herself in South Omaha and has a deep connection to the area. She wants to see more people who understand social issues on a personal level, included in leadership roles and developing solutions. "People are making decisions. It's really important to have people with those experiences at that decision-making table," Snipes said. As for her own future, Snipes is emotional about leaving the school board, but said she'll continue to be involved in the community in any way she can. "I don't need a title to be a force. And that goes for everybody. So you don't have to be elected. You can still show up," she said.