A Head Start for Eviction Prevention

This article was co-authored by Family Housing Fund and the Urban Institute and published on the Urban Institute’s website.

“In July 2018, the Ramsey County Housing Court set up a clinic in the courthouse offering tenants services that could help their case, such as legal aid, emergency assistance funds, and mediation. The clinic has helped people facing eviction understand their legal rights, access funds that could keep them in their home, and negotiate agreements with their landlords to avoid being forced out and potentially remove the eviction case from their record.

In October 2019, a version of the court clinic began doing the same work in the community, aiming to reach families before an eviction is ever filed. The model builds on the court clinic’s lessons about the importance of providing services in one place and collaboration among organizations with different expertise. The new clinic pilot aims to find out: Could this approach help service providers reach families before they’re in a crisis?”

Read the full article via the Urban Institute.

(Photo credit: Urban Institute)