Indianapolis program aims to educate public on tenant rights
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A local organization is speeding up its plan to implement a neighborhood tenant fellows program.
It’s a new initiative to help make sure tenants are protected. The goal is to stop renters from being kicked out of their homes during the pandemic. The decision to move things up comes after a women evicted from her home contracted COVID-19 and died soon after.
There’s a sense of safety you’re supposed to have inside your home, but for many out of work unable to pay the rent that safety is in limbo.
Even though Gov. Eric Holcomb signed an executive order temporarily prohibiting evictions and foreclosures, it’s still happening at times to some of the most vulnerable.
“No one deserves to die no one deserves to be put out of their homes and no landlord or property manager is above the law,” said Dee Ross, founder of The Ross Foundation.
Over the last few months, the organization has been working on putting together the neighborhood tenants fellows. The plan was to roll it out this summer.
“This is why this is urgent and imperative that this initiative happens so we can save lives and protect our residents,” Ross said.
But after an east-side woman contracted COVID-19 and died shortly after being evicted, the program is getting started now.
“It’s important to be intentional about working in higher concentration communities of low income because they are the ones typically getting evicted the most and not informed about their rights,” Ross said.
The team will be split into groups of five to cover each side of Indianapolis. The team will be tasked with going door to door to communities around Marion County — while following U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention safety guidelines — educating the public on their rights as it relates to housing.
Data released by Princeton University shows Indianapolis ranks second in the nation for the amount of evictions. New York City tops the list.
“That data shows that with us not being one of the largest cities is not just tenants not paying their rent,” Ross said.
The Ross Foundation says it’s be working with the Mayor’s Action Center to help provide other tenants’ rights literature to residents.
The plan is to have the fellows out in the community by next week.