Searching for something to blog about for this week, I found the article “‘Rationing justice’: Legal aid programs struggle to meet high demand” reported by Nushrat Rahman for Bridge Detroit. The article discusses the inability of existing legal aid organizations to meet the demand for their services in Detroit. These groups do not have sufficient funding or staffing to properly assist all would-be clients, and have to determine who does and does not receive aid. The article goes on to mention that “in Detroit, 83% of landlords had legal representation, compared with less than 5% of tenants facing eviction.” Clearly, those people who most need legal aid are those with the most difficulty accessing it. Organizations receive requests to help with housing, family and finance services, and although they do their best to offer advice to everyone who asks, they do not have the resources to provide litigation to all those who need it.
This issue of inaccessible legal services is incredibly important, particularly because it is directly related to issues of affordable housing and financial stability. Gentrification would perhaps be less rampant if tenants had the resources to exercise their legal rights and prevent illegal rent hikes or evictions. Additionally, as the article discusses, one way to combat this problem is by providing self-help legal resources, making it easier for citizens to learn how to navigate the housing and financial systems on their own. However, this method can only go so far in the face of such intimidating and stressful legal difficulties such as losing one’s house.
The article also caused me to think about the scope of work being done by sites like the urban farm I am interning at. We are still in the early stages of being an educational space, and therefore our programming is often sparsely attended. This begs the question, are we reaching everyone who needs us? Are the neighbors who would most benefit from access to fresh fruits and vegetables, along with information on backyard agriculture, aware of our programs? Are the donations we make to the nearby food pantry having a noticeable impact yet, and how can we scale up production while still dealing with logistical constraints? It’s important to consider not only the people we are helping, but also the people we are not, in the hopes that we can expand our reach.
Thanks for sharing this article with us, Claire. It’s indeed very disturbing how the system seems designed to reinforce and exacerbate the struggles of working class Detroiters while helping the wealthy and powerful attain more advantages and wealth. I appreciate how you tie the article with your experiences with your urban farming project. In a more socially just world, so many nonprofit initiatives that are needed today would no longer be needed, as people would have the power and means to meet their needs and thrive on their own.
Hi Claire, thank you for sharing this article and your thoughts/insights into the lack of access of legal aid within Detroit. Additionally, while the nonprofit I’m at seeks to increase food access and hold meetings to try to get as much community feedback as possible, I’ve definitely also been thinking about the question around who has ability to access these spaces in the first place.
Thank you for sharing this article. One of the things that don’t get talked about enough when discussing how to solve these problems is the cost of legal services. You can put in place protections for homeowners and renters, but it’s useless if those protections can be violated when they can’t afford a lawyer to challenge it.