Low-income residents and families who struggle with housing issues with their landlords are about to get some much-needed help from the city of Bakersfield. The city recently quietly rolled out a new project called the Eviction Protection Program. The goal is to keep residents housed and avoid becoming homeless.
“It’s the first of its kind for the city, hopefully it’s the start of new things to come,” said Valentin Narvaez, executive director of Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance which was awarded a one-year $350,000 contract from the city to implement and run the program. Housing and community advocates have been lobbying city leaders to establish a project to help renters fight unjust evictions and learn their rights as tenants.
GBLA attorney James Humphrey will be spearheading EPP. “Renters sometimes end up in pretty poor situations. We will focus on termination notices at the pre-eviction stage,” said Humphrey. “And if the tenant believes those notices were given in violation of their rights, we will definitely do whatever we can to assist their rights on their behalf,” he said.
If a case ends up going to court, GBLA will provide an attorney to represent the renter said Narvaez. According to Humphrey, sometimes renters lack knowledge of their rights that they can assert such as with security deposits or dealing with toxic mold. Sometimes it’s a lack of communication or misunderstanding with the landlord. Another issue is renters signing contracts without understanding what they are agreeing to. And sometimes there are just bad landlords that try to take advantage of renters.
But while the program sounds promising, housing advocates are worried that it may not be enough to address the scope of the problems facing low-income renters. “We are concerned about the small, one-time funding allocation. We do not think the City allocated enough funding to provide and meet the needs of the majority of residents facing the risk of an eviction and displacement,” said Sandra Melgoza-Plascencia, Kern County policy advocate for Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, a non-profit group. “The small amount of funding can also create constraints when determining how to allocate the funds specifically for outreach, engagement, interpretation, legal guidance, and services. We imagined a funding allocation that would allow door-to-door information dissemination by canvassers who spoke multiple languages,” said Melgoza-Plascencia.
A key concern is that renters who are undocumented immigrants may not qualify for full services from EPP. That’s because GBLA receives federal funding, and under federal guidelines, undocumented persons are barred from receiving direct help. “That’s not to say we don’t provide any assistance to the undocumented, if we do provide assistance it has to be within the Legal Services Corporation restrictions and guidelines,” said GBLA executive director Narvaez.
For example, an undocumented person may fall under a category that allows them to receive help, such as a refugee or seeking political asylum. Each case is different and Narvaez encourages people to contact GBLA for an evaluation of their particular circumstances.
WORKSHOPS
GBLA will have a couple of public workshops to inform the public about the Eviction Protection Program and how to get help. The first workshop is on Saturday, August 17 at the Martin Luther King Community Center at 1000 South Owens Street in Bakersfield. The first workshop will be in Spanish and starts at 10 am. That will be followed by a second workshop in English at 11 am.
GBLA will have a second session on August 21 at the same site. The Spanish-language workshop starts at 6 pm, followed by the English-language workshop at 7 pm. Admission is free and everyone is welcome to attend, including landlords.
