Hon. Jaya Madhavan, Bronx Housing Court
Ellen Howard-Cooper, NYC Department of Homeless Services
Prepared for the ICPH National Conversation of
Child Homelessness and Poverty
January 19,2012
The Housing Help Program prevents
homelessness by providing legal and social
services to tenants facing eviction from
high-needs zip-codes in the Bronx.
Targeting matters in Prevention:
 Bronx has the city’s number of eviction
filings – over 75,000 per year
 Bronx has the city’s highest share of
shelter entrants – over 40%
 About one of three shelter entrants are
due to eviction
Bronx Housing
Help Zip Codes
10452 & 10456
= Eviction
Filings
= Shelter
entrants
 The majority of families who are evicted and enter shelter do
not become engaged in services before homelessness is
imminent.
 While 95% of landlords are represented by an attorney in
housing court, over 95% of tenants are not. This often results in
eviction, since tenants can:





4
lack an understanding of legal notices and proceedings
lack a defense
become intimidated by the legal process
are unable to effectively negotiate with an attorney
face language barriers.
Calendar Year 2011
ZIP CODE
ENROLLED HHP
ENROLLED HB
10456
515
510
10452
336
627
11207
67
588
11691
247
245

The program is housed in Housing
Court and tenants are
automatically referred to HHP
when they first come to court.
HHP cases are heard by two judges
who are dedicated to the program.

Staffed by lawyers, paralegals and
social workers

All tenants facing eviction meet
with HHP staff

HHP tenants have access to a broad spectrum of social services

HHP is subject to rigorous evaluation
 Largest housing court in the
nation
 Hundreds of thousands of
tenants and landlords cycle
through the court each year
 Court is dedicated to
collaborative relationships
with multiple City Agencies as
well as non-profit providers
in order to prevent evictions
Unlike the HHP, traditional legal service agencies lack the paralegal,
social work, and attorney resources to assist in all cases.
HHP allocates its resources to ensure that virtually all are served.
HHP paralegals and attorneys provide hands on assistance to
tenants through every step of their case. Self-represented cases are
constantly monitored through the final result with full
representation available when needed.
HHP is able to target resources to serve more vulnerable families.
Even those with cases that do not seem to have legal merit are
addressed, providing assistance to those who may need it most.

Legal Services: Brief and Full
 70% Receive Brief Legal Services
▪ Provided when tenant is unlikely to need full representation
▪ Paralegals walk the tenants through the process
 Remaining 30% Receive Full Legal Services

Short-Term Social Service
 Help tenants apply for public assistance
 Provide financial counseling

Long-Term Social Services
 Tenants needing longer-term assistance are referred to NYC’s
community-based homelessness prevention program,
Homebase
Homebase allows households
to create a personal housing
plan, offering services such as:
 Legal services,
 Mediation,
 Short-term emergency funding,
and
 Assistance with obtaining
employment, public benefits and
accessing other social service.

Evaluated the program based on the likelihood
of entering shelter after program enrollment

Found a control group: Family Anti-Eviction
Legal Services
 Available in all neighborhoods
 Heavier reliance on full legal services
 Housing court staff often refer cases to community
offices
 Traditional model that takes a triage approach
10%
9.4%
9%
8%
7.4%
7.6%
7%
6%
5.1%
5%
4.2%
4%
3%
2.9%
2%
1%
0%
1-Year
2-Years
HHP
FALS
3-Years

HHP associated with reduced hazard of
shelter entry

Our results may understate program efficacy
 FALS is subject to two counts of selection bias
 Comparing HHP to a pre-existing program

Further research required to tease out the
impact of individual program features

Can be adopted by localities
 Needs a willing Housing Court partner
 Requires a legal and social service team
 Can be tailored to each community’s needs