Eviction Prevention Planning

Presented by Ted A. Lovato, LMSW, CCDS, CARTVice President & Chief Operations Officer

tlovato@samaritanhouse.org

To the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition, Providers Roundtable, September 15, 2009

WHAT HOMELESS PROVIDERS DO:

WE ALL PROVIDE HOUSING AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES

TO HOMELESS OR FORMALLY HOMELESS MEN, WOMEN

AND CHILDREN.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU EVICT?

“When you evict a homeless person, you make them

homeless again.”Joyce Grangent

Senior Program ManagerCorporation for Supportive Housing

WHY ARE PEOPLE EVICTED?

Non-payment of rent

Drugs (using/selling)

Violence Housekeeping

habits Unauthorized

occupants Nuisance

Disturbances Pets Mental health and

erratic behaviors Foreclosures Subleasing unit Lease ends Home Condemned Damaging unit

WHAT ARE OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS HOMELESS SERVICE PROVIDERS?

Provide supportive services Teach Nurture Empower Provide opportunities to learn life skills

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DO OUR JOBS?

We Prevent Evictions!

HOW DO WE PREVENT EVICTIONS?

We go the extra mile!

WHO DO WE SERVE?

Our clients are not losers!

WHO DO WE SERVE?

We must believe in our clients! If we do not believe in our

clients, how can we effectively empower them to

change?

WHO DO WE SERVE?

It is our job to take on the challenge of the difficult to serve clients and help them

to learn new skills to improve their lives.

WHO DO WE SERVE?

We must be careful not to be judgmental. Just because we

have the skills to remain housed does not mean your clients will have that same skill. You know

how hard it is to keep a roof over your head, right? Our job is to

teach those skills.

WHO DO WE SERVE?

Homeless people get the message that they

have no value over and over again.

WHO DO WE SERVE?

WHO DO WE SERVE?

I like to think of the clients we serve as tootsie pops.

They have a hard shell, but the good part is in the

middle. We have to find it!

WHO DO WE SERVE?

The excitement and anticipation of those we

serve should be foremost. If it is not, maybe you are in

the wrong job.

THIS MEANS:

We have to meet the clients where they are.

Why Prevent Evictions? What’s the Point?

o Makes the homeless person homeless againo Creates a negative credit and rental reporto Makes renting for your clients difficult if not

impossibleo Creates a vacancy in your program o Affects your occupancy rateso Failures reflect negatively on your agency, your

mission and your APR outcomeso It costs money and time to evict a client. It could

take days and weeks.o You feel bad, but just think how the client feelso Finally, providing housing to hard to house homeless

people is our job.

Common Tenant Problems

Drug and Alcohol Use Drug Dealing Domestic Violence Disturbances Housekeeping Unauthorized Visitors or Too Many Visitors Non-Payment of Rent Pets Erratic Behaviors and Mental Health Issues

Care Plans

At Samaritan House, we use Care Plans and Eviction

Prevention Plans as leverage for compliance. If the resident does this, the

Samaritan House will do that.

Lease Violation Information

Resident’s Name:

Date:

Name of Person Reporting Incident:

Title:

Incident Type of Incident:

Violence/ Fighting Drug/Alcohol Use on Premises Drug/Alcohol Use Stealing Smoking in Room/Building

Unauthorized Overnight Visitors Security Breach Failure to Follow Care Plan Medication Use Incident

Unauthorized pets Lease Violations Late or Non-Payment of Rent Other Incident_______________

Explanation:

Incident Date:

Place Incident Occurred:

Signature of Person Who Filed Report:

Date:

Lease Violation Information Cont’

Recommended Change in Care Plan:

Behavioral Contract Completed on: Action Taken By Staff to Assist Client with Improvement: Progress: Resident’s Statement (check appropriate line):

I concur with the Staff Person’s statement. I disagree with the Staff Person’s statement for the following reasons: (if additional space is needed, please use

additional sheets).

Resident’s Signature:

Date:

Example of Problem: Non-Payment of Rent

Resident consistently pays rent late, pays partial rent, or does not pay at all. Always wanting to make pay arrangements.

Recommended Change in Care Plan

o Money Management and Budgeting Classes

o Guardianship Serviceso Priority settingo Figure out what the problem

is and incorporate it into the EPP.

Action taken by staff to assist resident with improvement

o Help client with budgeto Help them manage their cash

(envelope method)o Agency Serves as Payeeo Refer them to Guardianship

Serviceso Refer them to Consumer Credit

Counseling Services

Remember:

The client may not have the same skills as others. We must reach out and teach

them and give them resources for learning.

Samaritan House’s Eviction Request Form

Tenant Name: Address and Room or Apartment Number: Staff Person Completing Form: Date: 1. Please describe the situation that led up to the eviction request.

2. Who has discussed the potential eviction with the tenant? What was the result?

3. In what ways has staff attempted to assist the tenant with correcting the behavior that led to the decision to evict? What were the results?

4. In what way(s) will it be in the best interest of the tenant to leave the building?

5. In what way(s) will it be in the best interest of the building for the tenant to leave?

6. Please outline how the eviction will comply with the mission and values of Samaritan House. Include at least two reasons, and be specific.

Who Is The Final Decision Maker?

Please attach additional pages as needed. Final Mediation Requested: ______________ If Final Mediation requested, who will act as advocate for the tenant? _____________________________ Date of Final Mediation: ______________

To Be Completed by the Vice President & Chief Operations Officer Eviction Approved: _______________ Eviction Denied: _______________ Delayed pending further information regarding: ________________________________

Discharge Planning

If we have done everything we can to prevent eviction and

the client still fails, we must do good discharge planning.

Remember our job is not done until the client is safely in another form of housing if

possible.

Know Your Landlords

Build relationships with the Landlord. Case Workers should explain your program and your tenant. Let them know you are a resource to help them keep your client housed. Explain

Eviction Prevention and your role in keeping the resident housed.

Burnout

We must be aware of burnout because it affects

our work. If your client becomes too difficult or hard to serve, turn them over to another case manger. Let

them try too before you give up.

Finally

We are not experts at Samaritan House. We are simply thinking out of the

box and trying to keep people housed. QUESTIONS?