www.hivlawproject.org housing needs: a legal advocacy perspective presentation to ioc committee hiv...
TRANSCRIPT
www.hivlawproject.org
Housing Needs: A Legal Advocacy Perspective
Presentation to IOC Committee
HIV Planning Council
January 4, 2012
Tracy L. Welsh, Esq.
Executive Director
www.hivlawproject.org
HIV Law Project
• Legal & advocacy organization for PLWHAs
• Handled over 22,000 individual cases as well as several class-action lawsuits
• We have handled thousands of housing and eviction cases
• We handle about 1,000 cases each year Roughly 500 new cases opened annually In 2011, we received roughly 300 calls about
housing-related problems through our housing hotline, and opened 99 cases
www.hivlawproject.org
Our Housing Services
• Eviction prevention• Supported by benefits advocacy• Connection to longer-term social
support services
• We do NOT:– Provide housing– Locate housing– Pay rental arrears or issue housing
grants
www.hivlawproject.org
Our Housing Objectives
• Preserve stable housing through eviction prevention, arrears advocacy & income maintenance
• Expand eligibility for housing options for undocumented clients
• Improve health and safety of clients’ housing
• Connect clients to housing service providers if need emergency housing, housing placement, rental assistance, etc.
www.hivlawproject.org
Housing Stability FY 11
• All clients assessed at intake for housing stability
• 487 new cases, about 10% or 48 clients identified as living in SRO, shelter or with friends – Of those 48, only 5 presented with
housing as their primary legal issue• We opened 99 new housing cases
– Thus 142 clients, or nearly 30% of our cases involve clients who are either homeless, marginally housed or at-risk for homelessness
www.hivlawproject.org
Common Eviction Case
• Non-payment of rent• Holdovers – including chronic non-payment, hoarding, nuisance
www.hivlawproject.org
Some Specific Recommendations
• Advocate for broader interpretation of eligible legal services under RW
– Eviction and immigration
• Create more Ryan White funded housing programs–Mentally ill, substance users, MICA
www.hivlawproject.org
Some SpecificRecommendations
• Enhance RW rental assistance funds for those not HASA-eligible
–Include start-up funds, rental arrears and on-going rental assistance
–Avoid time limits
• Create or enhance resources for financial management services
–Mentally ill, substance users, MICA
www.hivlawproject.org
Other Possible Solutions
• Advocate for HOPWA to fund eviction prevention efforts
• Enhance resources for active housing placement assistance (not just info. and referral), consider allocating funds for start up costs
• Fund housing “education” services under RW, which would allow clients to obtain legal information about their housing rights
www.hivlawproject.org
Other Possible Solutions
• Create independent education/ mediation program for clients’ facing eviction from publicly supported housing models
–Scattered-Site Programs
–SROs
www.hivlawproject.org
Contact Information
Tracy L. Welsh, Esq.
Executive Director
HIV Law Project
212-577-3001