How our eviction court program keeps people housed
As part of our summer deep dive on Jesse Tree programs series, this month we'll be covering our Eviction Court Program.
Two years ago, Jesse Tree began building a close partnership with Ada and Canyon Counties, so that tenants being summoned to eviction court could be connected to social, financial, and legal assistance in real time.
Since then, we've supported almost 300 families in the eviction court process. This has all been made possible through our close collaboration with court staff, judges, our Housing Clinic with the University of Idaho College of Law, and Idaho Legal Aid.
We are currently witnessing an all-time high of evictions being filed. In 2022 so far, there have been over 640 filings in Ada and Canyon counties. Jesse Tree has prevented eviction in 137 of these cases - 21% of all cases filed!
How do we prevent eviction? We work directly with court staff, tenants, landlords, and their attorneys to come up with a mediation agreement that works for both sides. As needed, we intervene financially to pay off outstanding rent owed, provide case management, or help pay for a security deposit if the tenant has to - or wants to - move out.
As our Eviction Court Program Manager, Morgan, says - we are helping guide and advocate for tenants through this process, to ensure they don't get an eviction judgment on their record.
Evictions go on tenants' public records permanently and create huge barriers to securing future housing. Eviction sends many families into a revolving door of homelessness, causing traumatizing effects that can last a lifetime.
The eviction process also happens very quickly. It can take as little as two weeks from the time someone receives a 3-day pay or quit notice to the time they are in court.
In addition to being there for our clients through the eviction process, we make sure they're going to be okay going forward. Our Aftercare Case Managers, Tiffany and Alison, provide tenants with the tools they need to overcome barriers to housing stability and become self-sufficient. Because of the support they provide, our data still shows that 95% of the families we've supported in court don't come back, and don't end up homeless.
Despite rising eviction filings in the Treasure Valley, we have hope. As mentioned above, we've been able to get 21% of all eviction filings dismissed so far in 2022, up from just 10% last year. With your continued help we can continue to help our neighbors avoid the trauma of eviction.
Next month, we’ll talk about our newest program, Security Deposit Assistance and the lasting impact it has on our clients.