eradicating housing instability
The Eviction Prevention and Intervention Coalition (EPIC)
The Eviction Prevention and Intervention Coalition (EPIC) is a pilot project designed to stabilize vulnerable families and individuals in Montgomery County who are facing eviction by providing them with free legal and social services support on the day of their eviction hearing.
The program is designed to provide financial assistance to prevent evictions, and connection to the long-term financial and social supports needed to prevent future housing instability.
EPIC is the result of a cross-system partnership between the following organizations:
- Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania
- Montgomery Bar Association
- Montgomery Bar Foundation
- Montgomery County Courts
- The Montgomery County Foundation
- Montgomery County Office of Housing and Community Development/ Your Way Home
- Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
EPIC was designed to address the significant and debilitating impact that evictions have on vulnerable populations and those living in poverty. Both local and national data were used to design the EPIC program, and the following points were particularly important to its development:
- Of the 66 zip codes in Montgomery County, 60% of evictions are concentrated in two zip codes: 19401 (Norristown) and 19464 (Pottstown). [1]
- There is currently no program in Montgomery County that can provide both financial assistance and legal representation to prevent evictions, particularly to persons of more modest means but who are still housing-cost burdened (above 125% of the poverty guideline but paying over 50% of their income towards rent). Most tenants use pro se representation during eviction hearings, and most legal evictions are due to nonpayment of rent. [2]
- Evictions disproportionately affect women, households with children, and African Americans. [3]
- Evictions are often the cause of poverty and job loss, not a result of them. Once evicted, most households are forced to find more expensive and lower quality housing due to the negative impact that an eviction has on one’s credit and rental history. [4]
- Essential components of successful court-based eviction prevention models across the country include: day-of, onsite services; access to financial assistance; and access to staff trained in local landlord-tenant law. [5]
[1] Data source: Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
[2] “Eviction Prevention Research Project,” sponsored by Your Way Home and the HealthSpark Foundation. Barbara Poppe & Associates, 2017. Available on YourWayHome.org.
[3] Desmond, Matthew. 2016. Evicted: Power and Profit in the American City. New York: Crown.
[4] Desmond, Matthew. 2016. Evicted: Power and Profit in the American City. New York: Crown.
[5] “Eviction Prevention Research Project,” sponsored by Your Way Home and the HealthSpark Foundation. Barbara Poppe & Associates, 2017. Available on YourWayHome.org.
