The Housing Task Force has continued to meet weekly discussing basic housing needs. The group works to find community supports for individuals and also has access to flex funds from Buffalo County Community Response to help with these basic housing needs. During the recent Housing Task Force meetings, the need for immediate legal assistance for community members being evicted kept presenting itself. Community case managers kept brainstorming ways that we could alleviate some of our crisis housing needs. The group wanted to help address this issue on a local level so they could support landlords and tenants in the best way possible.
They decided that if we could help keep people in their current housing, this, in turn, alleviates other issues that arise from having a surge in people without any housing. Attorney, Jeff Ensz, has been contracted with Buffalo County Community Partners to assist in cases where a tenant may be facing an eviction. The group’s hope is to cut down on homelessness by helping those that are already in housing to stay in their current housing while also helping the landlord keep tenants in their properties.
If you would like more information on the Community Response process and how people can qualify for this legal assistance, please contact Wanda Fedorchik at positivepressure@bcchp.org or Martha Marfileno at wellness@bcchp.org. Or see bcchp.org/communityresponse for more information.
Our whole community is struggling through this time of COVID-19. We are so appreciative to our entire community, landlords, and case workers that are working to provide a safe place for all of our community members to live.