The most effective way to address homelessness is to help people stay in their homes! Despite this, in 2013, nearly 30,000 households were evicted despite the fact that as many of half of these could have stayed in their homes if they had been represented by legal counsel. Your
right to an attorney only exists in criminal court not in civil / housing court despite the fact that one's home is central to one's ability to lead a productive life and care for one's family. For the first time, the City Council and the de Blasio administration are considering providing resources to enable households facing eviction proceedings to be represented by legal counsel - where currently 97% of landlord are represented by attorney while nearly 90% of tenants are not! Click here to learn more about this very important initiative that could prevent many thousands of New Yorkers from becoming homeless and save New York City hundreds of millions a year in shelter costs.