Hundreds of mid-Michigan tenants facing eviction could keep their homes throughout the next year, thanks to the pro bono work of Michigan State University College of Law students.
The college’s Housing Law Clinic has partnered with Ingham County on a pilot program designed to help Michigan tenants reach alternatives to eviction. The Ingham County Eviction Diversion Program is modeled after a successful program in Kalamazoo, said Michael Siracuse, a staff attorney for the clinic, and is only the second of its kind in Michigan and possibly the nation.
So far, Siracuse and his students have counseled hundreds of tenants, avoiding eviction in about a quarter of the cases.
“Everyone facing eviction has a right to an attorney but most people can’t afford one,” Siracuse said. “So they need a volunteer legal department and right now it’s us. As we’re all aware, times are pretty tight right now for most of the lower and middle class, so we get all sorts of people facing eviction.”
In fact, according to the Michigan Department of Human Services, last year there were about 9,000 evictions between the three Lansing-area courts. The result: overcrowded shelters and people living on the streets. Eviction judgments affect credit ratings and therefore tenants’ abilities to rent, Siracuse said.
“As part of this program, we find solace in the fact that we fight for a defendant’s basic human need of having shelter by preventing eviction,” said Lee Schuchart, a student clinician. “We give the indigent a voice that it normally is without. We balance the scales.”
Every Wednesday, Siracuse and four to five student clinicians spend the afternoon in the 55th District Court, in Mason, screening each proceeding on the docket to find an alternative to eviction – whether it’s reaching a settlement, finding an organization to help with rent or discovering an instance of wrongful eviction.
“These law students are our future lawyers, judges, lobbyists, policymakers and politicians,” said SuA’lyn Holbrook, director of the Ingham County Department of Human Services. “Hopefully, experiences like this will help shape their perspective on the poor, homelessness, housing and social policies.”
When housing is unstable, local economies, schools systems, health care systems and job markets are affected, she said. So the Eviction Diversion Program “will be a viable part of helping our community and county succeed.”
Judges have been instrumental to the program’s success, Siracuse said. Other partners include The Salvation Army, Michigan Department of Human Services, United Way, Capital Area Community Services, Volunteers of America, Legal Services of South Central Michigan and the Housing Assessment and Resource Agency.
“This program has the potential to end thousands of evictions each year,” Siracuse said. “Every county in the state should adopt it. If they’re not paying attention, that’s an opportunity lost.”