By Sierra Hunter
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland has joined with the Homeless Persons Representation Project and Public Justice Center to call on Gov. Larry Hogan to allocate $153 million of relief aid to assist hundreds of thousands of Marylanders who are still facing eviction or utility shutoff in the wake COVID-19.
Hogan received a nine-page letter on Friday from the groups, which are requesting a delay in utility shutoffs and evictions, as well as assistance with rent payments until at least July 27. Officials said current federal law supports their plea.
The letter said that the $153 million of relief aid would be used to provide four months of temporary rental assistance, rather than one year. Officials said the payments would go directly to landlords. Those payments, officials explained, are 50% of the lease rent, rather than 100%. The estimated total statewide cost is $307.3 million with the initial state contribution being half of the statewide costs, or $153,651,480.
Matt Hill, an attorney at the Public Justice Center, praised the governor for his actions to keep Maryland families safe but stressed the stay-at-home orders, curfews and other restrictions are not enough.
“As Maryland contemplates re-opening its economy, there is no clear plan to mitigate the public health disaster that a massive wave of evictions and utility shutoffs would wreak on Maryland families,” Hill said.
The ACLU said additional changes should be made to the current policy proposal that oversees the development of sustainable housing infrastructure for low income families. Officials called for free legal counsel for tenets, investments in permanent housing, and strategies to address community and neighborhood instability.
According to the ACLU, the people who shoulder the burden of rising costs tend to be essential workers who are mainly people of color. These workers are at even greater risk for eviction, officials said.
“No one should face the prospect of likely homelessness when Social Services providers are closed or operating at limited capacity, unemployment is soaring to record highs, medical costs are mounting, and other available financial assistance is limited at best,” said Carolyn Johnson, an attorney at the Homeless Persons Representation Project.
Housing instability is not a new issue for Maryland residents. Since the Great Recession, the number of eviction filings has remained above 600,000 per year. The ACLU of Maryland estimated that the cost to relieve 141,000 Maryland families of the economic burden will exceed $1.8 billion based on data from the National League of Cities.
“This would allow some additional breathing room for rental assistance to be operationalized,” said Attorney Zafar Shah of the Public Justice Center. “We cannot risk a wave of evictions that devastates families, increases homelessness, jeopardizes public safety, and dooms economic recovery, while the system is being put into place.”
When courts reopen, officials said that families who have eviction cases pending in the Maryland judiciary face the potential reality of losing their homes. Not only would that lead to mass evictions throughout the state, but officials said the health of Marylanders would be further compromised in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
1 Comment
I completely agree with this. Some of us are struggling and never have missed a rent payment before this virus drstriyour bank accounts and took all of our savings.