Housing Justice Archives - Pro Bono Institute

When Virtual Still Works: Helping the Housing Crisis in More Rural Areas

March 27, 2024

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP Interview Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP has partnered with Legal Services of the Hudson Valley to staff a helpline for tenants facing eviction or related housing crises. Through the helpline, tenants can receive advice about their legal rights and assistance with completing pro se forms, such as answers and motions, to file in their cases. In 2023, over 500 clients were provided assistance through the helpline. We spoke with Laura Sinrod, Special Counsel and Resident Pro Bono Counsel in the New York office. As pro bono counsel, Laura is responsible for

Housing Justice

March 28, 2023

As part of the Challenge Signatory Showcase, Corporate Pro Bono is excited to highlight The Williams Companies**, and their housing justice pro bono project. We chatted with Williams’ Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Lane Wilson, about the project and the impact that it has on tenants who are unable to afford legal representation when faced with eviction. Wilson also discussed with us the importance of having a general counsel who is involved in the department’s pro bono program. LW: One of the many ways Williams’ employees implement our Responsible Stewards Core Value is to support the communities where we work and live.

Homelessness & Housing Justice

March 29, 2022

by PBI intern Isabella Brill Last month when the Super Bowl was held at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, a sudden move to shut down a nearby homeless encampment focused the public’s attention on a longstanding issue — homelessness. In the past year, homelessness has become an important topic amongst state and city leaders in Los Angeles, where the population has increased to over sixty thousand people in Los Angeles County. This estimate includes people that are unhoused and live amongst the street. However, it could be much larger due to the difficulty in finding and counting homeless people, and multiple delays in the annual

Crime-Free Housing Ordinances

December 8, 2021

Adequate housing is a basic human right, yet there are many barriers to housing in the United States. The PBEye has been following the development of laws and policies that create or ease barriers to housing, including the response to growing housing insecurity during the pandemic, the impact of the end of the national eviction moratorium, the decriminalization of homelessness through the establishment of homeless courts, and the movement to secure a right to counsel for tenants in housing court. In this latest article, we look at the impact of crime-free housing ordinances. Crime-free housing ordinances vary widely state to state and within county and city jurisdictions, but

The Homeless Court Movement

September 29, 2021

By Kristen Bolster, PBI Intern On any given night there are roughly 580,500 people experiencing homelessness in the United States (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development). People who experience homelessness may be penalized and charged with civil offenses for trespassing, and receive fines and fees for actions including living in a vehicle, blocking the sidewalk, and smoking, urinating, drinking or sleeping in public. These acts can be categorized as ‘public nuisance offenses,’ which many people experiencing homelessness oftentimes have little option but to commit. Nonpayment of fines and fees can lead to collection agencies getting involved and tacking on

COVID-19 and Housing Insecurity

May 18, 2021

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, housing insecurity has increased. With over 20 million Americans having lost jobs or experienced pay cuts, access to stable and affordable housing has become increasingly important. Housing insecurity is defined by the Urban Institute as missing or deferring rent or mortgage payments or having little confidence in one’s ability to make rent or mortgage payments. An August 2020 study by the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) reported that nearly one in three renters experienced housing insecurity each week from late April 2020 to July 2020.