Support Right to Counsel in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
What is Right to Counsel?
A right enshrined in law to have access to legal counsel when facing eviction
Eviction Court is Stacked Against Renters
Unbalanced
Eviction court proceedings are skewed to favor landlords and evict people from their homes
Underrepresented
90 percent of landlords are represented by legal counsel in evictions, but fewer than 10 percent of tenants have representation
Unjust
Tenants often lack the ability to go to court due to employment, child care, or transportation restrictions
Automatically lose -- if they had a lawyer - the lawyer can go to court even if they can’t
Not Experts
Any defenses that are available to a tenant are virtually impossible to prove without a lawyer
Disproportionate
Black tenants — especially Black women — disproportionately face the threat of eviction
Black women are more than twice as likely to have evictions filed against them as white people
Longstanding systemic income and wealth inequality also put communities of color and women at higher risk of eviction
Harder to be housed
Eviction records follow people for years, stigmatizing already vulnerable groups and blocking them from housing opportunities
86% of tenants with representation were able to remain in their homes
A result of New York City’s right to counsel legislation
93% of represented tenants avoided eviction or an involuntary move.
A result of Cleveland’s right to counsel legislation
Evictions Traumatize children
For children, eviction is particularly devastating and is associated with emotional trauma, food insecurity, academic decline, lead poisoning, and decreased life expectancy. Pregnant women who are evicted are more likely to have adverse outcomes, such as preterm births and low birth weight babies. During the pandemic, evictions could result in COVID-19 infection or death.
Why here? Why now?
The money exists
Winston Salem and Forsyth County (WSFC) have received over $120 million in combined federal stimulus funds intended to help local governments build back better after the pandemic.
We evict a lot
Pre COVID - WSFC ranked among the highest in the country in rates of evictions - it has only gotten worse
Racial equity
This is a racial equity issue - the demographic of people most likely to face eviction are Black women. This is true in Winston Salem - our segregated city has a very obvious pattern in its eviction map
Right-to-counsel laws save jurisdictions money.
Baltimore’s RTC costs $5.7 million annually
Saves $35.6 million
OUR PARTNERS
Winston-Salem Democratic Socialists
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Housing Justice Now
•
The Coalition for Accountability and Transparency
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& More
Winston-Salem Democratic Socialists • Housing Justice Now • The Coalition for Accountability and Transparency • & More
Email us to get involved!
housingjusticenowws@gmail.com