Jim’s Story

“Jim” is an elderly Veteran who served on active duty during the Vietnam war.

He was referred to CLA by the Tenancy Preservation Program, a state homelessness prevention program that helps people with disabilities preserve their housing. Jim was facing possible eviction due to non-payment of rent for the efficiency unit where he had lived for the last fifteen years. After the landlord upgraded the unit, Jim’s rent jumped by over 100%], which he could not afford. After nearly a year, Jim had fallen behind in rent by thousands of dollars, and, with his limited income, had no way to pay it.

To preserve Jim’s housing, Attorney Strauss first turned to finding programs that could help Jim pay the back rent he owed. Along with Housing Unit Case Manager Ashley McGill, Attorney Strauss worked with several different organizations to get nearly all of Jim’s back rent paid off. This helped to stop his eviction, but Jim also needed help in order to stay in his housing.

Attorney Strauss then worked with several agencies, including the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program, to get Jim a voucher to help pay for his housing going forward. With the voucher, provided by a federal program for assisting low-income Veterans, Jim can afford to continue living in his current housing.

Providing Jim with the holistic services CLA can offer, Attorney Strauss also connected Jim with CLA’s Elder Unit. A paralegal in the unit provided Jim with information about trying to reinstate his Veterans’ benefits from the state and increasing his SNAP (formerly called “Food Stamps”). The paralegal also provided Jim with additional resources available for elders in his area.