HOW EVICTIONS FROM SUBSIDIZED HOUSING ROUTINELY VIOLATE
EVICTING A TENANT WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
OVERVIEW
People with severe and persistent mental illness are too often evicted from their housing for reasons that are truly related to a disability, in violation of state and federal law.1 Eviction is quick and can be initiated and concluded without any consideration of whether a tenant has a disability, despite the fact that a person with a disability has a legal right to receive a reasonable accommodation that will keep the person in his or her housing. Landlords generally do not propose reasonable accommodations for tenants with mental illnesses of their own volition, and tenants often lack the information and resources necessary to advocate for reasonable accommodations from their landlords. Once an eviction process has begun, there are few mechanisms to ensure that persons with severe and persistent mental illness are able to defend their right to remain in their housing. Further, the courts continually fail to make the promise of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (FHAA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) a reality for tenants with severe and persistent mental illness, as the courts too often rubber-stamp evictions from public housing without inquiry into disability status or thought given to what will happen to tenants once they are evicted. For people with mental illness,2 these evictions may lead to homelessness or institutionalization that violates the integration mandate of the ADA.
RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
STABLE HOUSING IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
Simply put, reliable housing is necessary for well-being, particularly for persons with severe and persistent mental illness. Instability, especially in housing, can be a major source of stress and can trigger or worsen the effects of mental illness. Studies and common sense indicate that individuals with severe mental illnesses who have adequate housing experience fewer complications and are less likely to have co-occurring disorders, such as substance abuse, that exacerbate mental illnesses. 4 Further, individuals in stable housing are more likely to adhere to their treatment plans, which can help cognition and aid social function.5 The necessity of providing people who have a severe mental illness with safe and stable housing is recognized by federal housing laws, but rubber-stamp evictions undermine this intended right, with disastrous results for this often fragile segment of society.
Evictions hit person with disabilities with a particular punch because of the difficulty of obtaining housing in the first place.6 People with disabilities have encountered deep-rooted stigmatization and outright discrimination for decades, and that stigma and discrimination continue.7 A study of the Chicago rental market conducted by HUD in 2005 found that people with disabilities faced discrimination in up to half of the inquiries they made regarding renting apartments.
CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF EVICTION DURING COVID-19
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly impacted and devastated the world. As the infection spreads, the projected mortality and economic devastation are unprecedented. In particular, racial and ethnic minorities may be at a particular disadvantage as many already assume the status of a marginalized group. Black Americans have a longstanding history of disadvantage and are in a vulnerable position to experience the impact of this crisis, and the myth of Black immunity to COVID-19 is detrimental to promoting and maintaining preventative measures.
INTRODUCTION TELEMEDICINE
INTRODUCTION TELEMEDICINE – THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE Overcrowding, long waiting times, lack of specialists, and growing costs are only a few challenges faced by healthcare systems today. The answer to these problems, as well as to the growing demand for personalized, easily accessible medical services, is telemedicine. It involves the remote provision of medical services to patients without the need for face-to-face interactions with a physician. Diagnostic points are a recent innovation in the telemedicine market.
Families With Children at Increased Risk of Eviction, With Renters of Color Facing Greatest Hardship
An estimated 5.7 million adult renters living with children are not caught up on rent, with nearly half of these renters reporting eviction is at least somewhat likely in the next two months, our new analysis of Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data from August to September 2021 shows. As millions remain months behind on rent, immediate action is needed to protect children from the avoidable harm caused by evictions and unstable housing. States and localities must keep families safely housed by employing eviction diversion programs that provide legal representation and help emergency aid reach families struggling to pay rent. The Build Back Better legislation provides Congress an opportunity to bolster these efforts and recognize the foundational role of safe and affordable housing in the long-term well-being of children most at risk of eviction by including $24 billion to expand the Housing Choice Voucher program.
Families with children have been consistently more likely throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to fall behind on rent compared to renters without children in their household. On average, 21 percent of renters living with children reported being in a household behind on rent from early August to late September, compared to 12 percent of renters without children in their household. Among renters living with children, people of color are at even greater risk of losing their homes, reflecting long-standing racial inequities in education, employment, and housing opportunities.
Housing hardship has hit Black renters living with children especially hard, with 29 percent, an estimated 1.7 million renters, reporting that their household is not caught up on rent. (See graph.) Fear of eviction is particularly high among Black renters living with children in households behind on rent, 57 percent of whom report eviction is at least somewhat likely in the next two months. Black renters’ heightened risk of being forced from their homes captures the disproportionate impact of evictions on communities of color, which overwhelmingly displace low-income Black and Latinx renters. Black women are especially likely to face eviction, partly reflecting intersecting racial and gender disparities in wages and employment.
The end of national eviction protections in late August has left children in these families particularly vulnerable to experiencing homelessness and other unstable housing situations as parents struggle to keep a roof over their heads. The homelessness, housing instability, and overcrowding that evictions cause often have harmful consequences for children, including increased likelihood of physical and mental health problems and poor school performance. While in effect, the federal eviction moratorium averted an estimated 1.55 million evictions, effectively preventing many families from losing their homes.
The predicted surge in evictions once the moratorium ended has yet to materialize, partly due to the accelerating pace of emergency aid disbursement in recent months and the patchwork of state and local protections still covering nearly half of all renter households. Courts may also be backlogged with eviction cases, while renters without legal representation may choose to leave their homes upon receiving an eviction notice instead of fighting the case in court. However, eviction risk remains high for families with children, particularly single parents, who are disproportionately likely to have accrued rental debt during the pandemic; households with children headed by women that experienced a pandemic-related job loss owe an average of $7,600 in back rent, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia estimates.
Protecting families with children from the immediate threat of eviction requires preventative measures such as implementing eviction diversion programs and distributing remaining emergency aid. Beyond that, a major expansion of the Housing Choice Voucher program is the most effective way to help families with low incomes afford housing and prevent future eviction spikes following economic and public health crises. The significant voucher program expansion included in the Build Back Better legislation would reduce housing instability and homelessness, helping shield more children from the preventable harm caused by evictions and unstable housing. Expanding the voucher program would also strengthen other recovery agenda investments and help cut poverty and reduce racial disparities. By helping more families with low incomes afford housing, Congress can take a critical step toward ensuring all children have the safe and stable housing they need.