Discussion: Right to Counsel for Renters

Please join the NAACP New Bedford Branch for a conversation with Annette Duke, Staff Attorney with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute and the Massachusetts Right to Counsel Coalition on the benefits of the Right to Counsel for tenants at risk of eviction.

Zoom Meeting May 19th @ 7:00pm
https://umassd.zoom.us/j/92535882524?pwd=ODVySWFBZXB0RVhqbElJT1M5bFlBdz09
Meeting ID: 925 3588 2524
Passcode: 1909

Aside from the matter of justice, the Boston Bar Association estimates that the Right to Counsel would save the Commonwealth over $63 million annually: “For every dollar spent by the state for civil legal aid in eviction and foreclosure matters, the state would save $2.69 in costs associated with emergency shelters, health care, and other services as a result of evictions.”

Bristol County has seen an explosive number of evictions related to the pandemic, chronic housing supply shortages, inequities in lending, generational poverty, and other harms. In 2020-2021 Bristol County alone accounted for over 35% of all evictions in the Commonwealth.

Despite federal and state programs to mitigate evictions, and a CDC moratorium on evictions which expires at the end of 2022, many renters still cannot successfully navigate all the legal and paperwork obstacles to qualification for relief without legal assistance. And, typically, those affected by evictions are disproportionately people of color and the poor.

In Bristol County, 92% of all renters have no legal counsel in eviction proceedings, and the Southeast Housing Court makes counsel available only one day a week, from 1-4 pm — a time slot impossible for most working people.

Last week the ACLU released a research report “No Eviction Without Representation” which describes the disproportionate harms of eviction and the virtually impossible situation for renters. For example, during the last 40 years rents have increased six times faster than wages, government has backed away from investments in housing programs, and renters typically spend between 30-50% of their income on rent. With this economic burden, few can ever hope to save enough to become home owners.

Please join us on Thursday, May 19th for this important discussion on the Right to Counsel.

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More on evictions and the housing crisis

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