- Getting evicted: A 1-2 punch, By Patty Hastings, October 22, 2017, The Columbian: “Charmaine Crossley and Kate Dunphy talk in hushed voices on the top floor of the Clark County Courthouse, plotting what to say to keep Crossley and her family from being evicted. Dunphy, the deputy director of the Tenants Union of Washington State, advises Crossley on how best to defend herself if the judge denies her request for more time…”
- A day in eviction court can be hard to navigate, By Patty Hastings, October 22, 2017, The Columbian: “A man in the third row of benches is dozing, his soft snores occasionally jolting him awake. Fluorescent lights buzz overhead. It seems dull, but lives change in this courtroom, where every Friday a Clark County Superior Court judge hears the unlawful-detainer docket. The vast majority of renters facing unlawful-detainer lawsuits, or evictions, lose their cases. They are ordered to pay back rent, late fees and the landlord’s attorney costs. Once the order is recorded and they vacate, future landlords will be less willing to rent to them…”
- Evictions: Tools are available to help, but organizations struggle to keep up, By Patty Hastings, October 23, 2017, The Columbian: “More than 1,100 eviction notices were filed in Clark County last year, and the same number are expected this year. Several agencies around Clark County operate rental-assistance programs that, in many cases, prevent evictions from happening. However, the programs are costly and can’t help everyone…”
- Advocates, landlords at odds over some tenant protections, By Patty Hastings, October 23, 2017, The Columbian: “A law in Washington that became effective in June 2016 allows tenants to seek an order of limited dissemination, which basically stops screening agencies from showing a prior eviction or using that past to calculate a rental score…”
Month: October 2017
Adverse Childhood Experiences
- Massachusetts scores well on childhood trauma, but nearly 40 percent of children are still affected, By Dan Glaun, October 19, 2017, MassLive.com: “When children experience stressful or traumatic events, the effects can be long lasting and severe. Suicide attempts, alcohol and drug abuse, high risk sexual behaviors and criminal convictions are all more common among people who grew up with what researchers call ‘adverse childhood experiences,’ according to multiple studies. And according to a new analysis by the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, 38.8 percent of Massachusetts children have had at least one ACE — well below the national average of 46 percent…”
- More than 40 percent of Maryland children experience traumatic events, By Meredith Cohn, October 19, 2017, Baltimore Sun: “More than four out of 10 children in Maryland have experienced a traumatic event such as the death or incarceration of a parent, or a drug addiction or mental health problem of a family member, according to a new analysis of national data. Nationally, the so-called adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, were even more widespread with 46 percent of children reporting at least one, according to the analysis by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Child & Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative done in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation…”
Payday Lending – Ohio
Curbs on payday loans a tough sell to Ohio lawmakers, By Jim Siegel, October 17, 2017, Columbus Dispatch: “When Ohio lawmakers pass a law that doesn’t come close to working as planned, they often fix it. Not so much with payday lending regulations approved nine years ago. Short-term lenders in Ohio today are charging the highest rates in the nation, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. A Republican lawmaker who wants to change that says he’s getting pushback from GOP colleagues who control the legislature…”