Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
12 <br /> 1 Chief Magistrate; Carolina Student Legal Services; NC Pro Bono Resource Center; <br /> 2 Orange Chatham Legal Aid; Commissioner Mark Marcoplos; Jamie Paulen <br /> 3 Determined the two greatest needs are: <br /> 4 1.) Ensuring attorneys are available to meet the demand <br /> 5 2.) Funds to enable tenants to stay in housing once they have demonstrated <br /> 6 financial capacity to pay future rent <br /> 7 <br /> 8 Proposal: Eviction Diversion Program <br /> 9 Need#1: Legal counsel for tenants facing eviction <br /> 10 • Orange County Eviction Diversion Program would bring together an Orange County <br /> 11 temporary employed bi-lingual attorney, Legal Aid of North Carolina, and pro bono <br /> 12 attorneys to represent tenants and negotiate agreements between tenants and landlords <br /> 13 to avoid eviction <br /> 14 • County staff are working with the Orange County Bar Association and the NC Pro Bono <br /> 15 Resource Center to identify local pro-bono attorneys, including bi-lingual attorneys, to <br /> 16 meet additional community needs <br /> 17 • Referrals to the program would come through the Housing Helpline — every person who <br /> 18 calls in goes through needs assessment <br /> 19 <br /> 20 Proposal: Funding for EHA <br /> 21 Need#2: Funds to stabilize tenants in their housing <br /> 22 • Risk Mitigation and Housing Displacement Fund ( "Emergency Housing Assistance" <br /> 23 sub-fund, formerly "Housing Stabilization Fund") pays for rent arrears and/or other <br /> 24 eligible costs needed to keep tenants in housing <br /> 25 • Board approved a one-time transfer of$100,000 from the Local Rent Supplement <br /> 26 Program on April 7, 2020 <br /> 27 • Since then, more than $110,000 in emergency housing assistance has gone to Orange <br /> 28 County residents experiencing a housing crisis <br /> 29 <br /> 30 Funding Request Recommendations (chart) <br /> 31 <br /> 32 Recommendations <br /> 33 1.) Approve development of Eviction Diversion Program <br /> 34 2.) Approve Budget Amendment#9-A appropriating $187,950 from the Social Justice <br /> 35 Reserve for the Program <br /> 36 3.) Authorize staff to seek funding for the Eviction Diversion Program from the Towns, and <br /> 37 donations from the community and businesses <br /> 38 <br /> 39 PUBLIC COMMENT: <br /> 40 Jamie Paulen said she sent her Tenant Right's Inc. proposal to Orange County Board of <br /> 41 County Commissioners via email. She said Tenant Rights, Inc. proposes to help prevent <br /> 42 individuals from becoming unsheltered by working to keep them in the housing in which they <br /> 43 currently reside. She said Tenant Rights, Inc. believes that the best place for people to be in <br /> 44 this COVID crisis is in the housing that is available. She said it plans to accomplish this by: <br /> 45 providing legal representation to individuals who are facing evictions in Orange County; <br /> 46 grassroots organizing across apartment complexes; and Lobbying the General Assembly for <br /> 47 changes in the law; and legal representation. She said Tenant Rights, Inc. intends to offer legal <br /> 48 representation in eviction proceedings to any resident or business operating in Orange County. <br /> 49 She said she is the President and General Counsel of Tenant Rights, Inc. (CV attached), and <br /> 50 she is a long time Orange County resident and tenant herself. She said she has 10 years of <br />