Legal Defense Eligibility FormPtH M T
COMMUNITY PRESERVATION ELIGIBILITY
DETERMINATION FORM
The purpose of this form is to make sure that all project applications applying for Community
Preservation Act funding are eligible for funding. Please refer to Appendix -E in the
Community Preservation Plan when filling out this form. This form must be approved in
order for an application to be accepted.
Project Title: Preserving Affordable Housing Legal Defense Project
Project Sponsor /Organization: Community Legal Aid, Inc.
Contact Name: Faye Rachlin
Property Owner, if applicable: N/A
Mailing Address: 405 Main St. 4 t " Floor, Worcester, MA 01608
Daytime phone #: 508 - 425 -2794
Fax #: 508 - 752 -5918
E -mail address: frachlin @laccm.org
CPA Program Area (check those that apply):
❑ Open Space ❑ Historic Preservation
x❑ Community Housing ❑ Recreation
Project Purpose (check those that apply):
❑ Acquisition ❑ Creation x❑ Preservation
x❑ Support ❑ Rehabilitation /Restoration
Project Summary: Please provide a brief description of the project.
Please see attached.
For CPC Use Eligible: _ Not Eligible_ _ Date: Revie_we_r:
The Preserving Affordable Housing Legal D efense Project will preserve an d support
rental community housing by providing free legal services and referrals to low- and very low-
income families and disabled and elderly (senior) tenants who reside in Northampton. The
Project is a program of Community Legal Aid, Inc. ( "CLA "), the state - funded provider of free
civil legal services in western and central Massachusetts. Through its legal advocacy, the Project
fulfills six of the City of Northampton Community Preservation Plan's (the "CPA Plan") Project
Evaluation Criteria.I
The Project will identify low- and very low- income, disabled, or elderly tenants who are
facing eviction from subsidized apartments, including public housing, project -based subsidized
units, and apartments that are subsidized by a Section 8 Housing Choice voucher. In addition, the
Project will serve tenants who are facing termination of their Section 8 vouchers by a housing
authority. The Project will get clients through our intake system, where tenants call us directly
for assistance, through referrals from community agencies such as Community Action!, and
through the housing court, and each case will be assessed to determine the level of assistance
required, which might include advice, informal advocacy, referral to community agencies,
collaboration with community agencies, representation at Section 8 termination hearings, and
representation at eviction trials in housing court. All of these services will result in the
preservation of subsidized housing, provision of critical services to support the ongoing tenancy,
and prevention of homelessness.
1 These criteria are the preservation of rental community housing ( #1); priority to Northampton residents ( 0);
provision of services for underser-ved- populations ( #9);- enhancement -of non - profit capacity for providing -
housing and related services ( #11); provision of housing for households with incomes below 80% of area
median income ( #14); and provision of housing for very low income households ( #15).
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This Project addresses the first general need category of - elessness prevention as
identified in the CPA Plan, which indicates that it is "far more cost effective to preserve
tenancies than to provide shelter and services for those who have lost their housing" and quotes
the "All Roads Lead Home" Plan that "[p]revention must be a key part of our strategy, because it
is humane, cost - effective, and critical to ending homelessness." (at 21).
The CPA Plan accurately states that there are few funding sources for homelessness
prevention activities. CLA is the only provider of specialized, free legal services for
Northampton residents who are unable to afford a private attorney to help them fight an eviction.
Indeed, because of funding cutbacks, in the last few years CLA has been unable to provide a full
range of legal services to low- income tenants, and has been limited to engaging in lawyer -for-
the -day activities in housing court, where CLA lawyers meet tenants for the first time on the day
of their eviction trial. Funding for this project would allow CLA to begin working with tenants
at the point at which issues or problems are identified, often preventing an eviction case from
being filed. It would also allow us to work with tenants and their housing authorities to prevent
termination of a Section 8 voucher. Such terminations often lead to homelessness as the tenant
household is unable to pay market rent without Section 8 assistance. We can also work
collaboratively with and refer tenants to services critical to supporting their tenancies and
avoiding eviction, like the Tenancy Preservation Program, which the CPA Plan accurately
identifies as a "highly effective way[] of preserving housing for those at -risk of homelessness."
The Community Preservation Act provides that community preservation funds may be used for
the (1) creation, (2) preservation, and (3) support of community housing, and the CPA Plan
specifically supports the provision of funding for both direct assistance to individuals and
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families for home preservation an to non -pro it entities t at provi e support or community
housing. (at 21).
However, except for one notable project that provides counseling to first -time
homebuyers (at 21), Northampton CPA housing funds have been primarily awarded for creation
of affordable housing, and not for preservation and support. This proposed Project envisions
supporting low- income tenant households at the times when they are most vulnerable to
displacement and homelessness, namely, facing an eviction case or threatened with the loss of
their rental assistance voucher. Thus, the Project allows low- income households to remain in the
Northampton community, enables the City to continue being a welcoming and supportive home
for this population, and provides an innovative, critical and low -cost opportunity for the City to
round out its support for affordable housing in Northampton.
?- Fourteen community housing projects were funded through July 1, 2010, which totaled more than $1,100,000 in
CPA funding and assisted in providing 45 permanent housing units and 28 temporary units at two shelters. (at
21). `
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