Pass the HOMES Act: How open eviction records impact survivors of domestic violence
Read the op-ed in the Somerville Times!
Every day, members of our community are asked to make an almost impossible choice: Remain in an unsafe relationship, or leave at the risk of losing their housing? Domestic violence survivors are already at an increased risk for housing instability and eviction. In the midst of our affordable housing crisis, open access to these records is further narrowing survivors’ housing options. The Community Action Agency of Somerville and RESPOND are two of the many organizations in Somerville that see firsthand the relationship between housing instability, eviction, and domestic violence. For that reason, we support the passage of the HOMES Act, and urge our legislators to help lessen the barriers to housing access that exist for domestic violence survivors.
Because of the private nature of domestic violence, it’s easily overlooked in the conversation around housing instability. In reality, survivors face some of the most complex and challenging housing dilemmas amongst any members of our community. Women who face intimate partner violence are four times more likely to experience housing instability. In a one-day survey of 48 domestic violence programs in Massachusetts, services were provided to 2,302 survivors. Of those 2,000+ people helped in one day, 56% received support for housing support and advocacy. However, these programs are struggling to keep up with an ever-growing demand for affordable housing. In that same one-day period, 57% of all unmet requests for support were for housing and emergency shelter.
There’s a cyclical relationship between domestic violence and housing insecurity, and eviction intensifies this cycle. For many, housing instability is a result of financial abuse. Abusers might take complete control over their partner’s finances. They may force them to pay for rent or utilities for the entire family, or spend excessively and run up high credit card debts. They might also cause their victims to miss work, or to be fired as a result of abuse or harassment at their workplace, making it even harder for survivors to afford rent, let alone moving costs and expenses. They may claim to pay rent, hide the proof of nonpayment, and then surprise their victims with an unexpected eviction notice. Repeated calls to police can often result in landlords evicting tenants experiencing abuse. These are some of the many reasons that survivors may already face higher barriers to housing access.
“Most of the survivors RESPOND works with are evicted because of the actions of their abuser,” Victoria Helberg, RESPOND CEO, shares. “That eviction becomes a way their abuser maintains control even after the relationship is over. Finding safe, affordable housing in Greater Boston is already such a struggle, and an eviction is a huge set-back for families that makes it so hard for them to rebuild after abuse.”
“Most of the survivors RESPOND works with are evicted because of the actions of their abuser. That eviction becomes a way their abuser maintains control even after the relationship is over.”
With an eviction on their record, finding housing may become significantly more difficult. Automatic tenant screening tools advise landlords against accepting tenants with eviction records, even if the case was dismissed, there was no wrongdoing on the part of the tenant, or the record was from an eviction filed decades ago. As a result, many people are forced to move into worse conditions than their previous homes. Single mothers, particularly women of color, are significantly more likely to face eviction, meaning that their children are also facing moves to new neighborhoods, oftentimes into school districts with less funding. When children are named in eviction filings, those records cross over into adulthood, creating generations of families facing barriers to housing.
“The clients our housing advocates work with all are in crisis, fearful of being out on the street, forced to share intimate details of their lives and finances with our staff, who are strangers to them,” says David Gibbs, CAAS’ Executive Director. “When intimate partner violence is a factor, we have to be extra careful to protect our clients’ privacy; it’s literally a matter of life and death. Passing the HOMES Act would be a huge step toward reducing the danger these clients face and affording them the same rights and dignities that most of us take for granted in our day to day lives.”
“Passing the HOMES Act would be a huge step toward reducing the danger these clients face and affording them the same rights and dignities that most of us take for granted in our day to day lives.”
Affordable housing is becoming more and more scarce in Somerville. Fewer affordable units mean that survivors have fewer viable housing options and a higher likelihood of rejection. Every survivor has different factors to consider and different needs to be met, which is precisely why our systems need to give them the flexibility to make the right choices for themselves and their families. While there’s no single solution to ensure housing stability for domestic violence survivors, passing the HOMES Act would mean that we can at least increase survivors’ ability to find safe, affordable, and sustainable housing.
The Community Action Agency of Somerville helps local families and individuals achieve financial security while working to eliminate the root causes of economic injustice.
RESPOND partners with individuals, families and communities to end the serious public health issue of domestic violence through prevention, intervention and education services that promote safe, healthy relationships.