Lighting the Path to Recovery By CINDY COLE ETTINGOFF, CEO and General Counsel, Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc.
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n the darkest nights, the stars are more easily seen and that has certainly been the case for the last two years. As the second poorest large metropolitan area in the country, COVID has had the effect of “breaking the frayed rope” holding many in the Memphis community from a disastrous fall. In some ways, despite the commencement of the pandemic, 2020 was less difficult than 2021 because there was an eviction moratorium in place in 2020. In In early 2021, the eviction moratorium ended in West Tennessee, which was significantly earlier than most other parts of the country. In addition, Tennessee’s landlord tenant law is different than that of many other states. In Tennessee paying rental arrearage does not automatically stop an order of eviction. The landlord’s right to possession continues. Only another court order stops a court order of eviction and that generally requires the assistance of an attorney. At a time when Memphis is deemed the most dangerous city in the country, living in a car or on the streets is more perilous than ever before. When the eviction moratorium ended, evictions recommenced. It was at that moment that some of the legal community’s brightest stars shone. Through a partnership with the City of Memphis, Shelby County, Neighborhood Preservation Inc., the University of Memphis School of Law, and with the help of some wonderful volunteer attorneys and law students, MALS was able to do what it does best – assist in addressing legal issues related to housing. In addition to pure rental arrearage settlement negotiations and possession issues, MALS also took next steps in serving clients to obtain SNAP, child support, unemployment and disability benefits in an effort to move those currently facing homelessness to a position of stability. In 2021 MALS handled an unprecedented number of unemployment compensation appeals.
As evictions increased this year, so did reports of domestic violence. Memphis was already ranked fifth highest in the nation in incidences of domestic violence. Based on the statistics that show domestic violence significantly increases whenever there is a natural disaster, MALS anticipated a sharp increase in requests from domestic violence victims for assistance when the pandemic commenced in 2020. However, the real surge in requests from DV victims has occurred most recently, when schools and workplaces reopened offering a place of safety for children during the day and allowing mothers the opportunity to leave the home and earn wages. Our next anticipated case surge is expected to be mortgage foreclose cases, since the abatement of mortgage foreclosures has ended. MALS’ Fair Housing Unit has historically served mortgagees seeking forbearances and 17
