Staci Berger, HCDNNJ president and chief executive officer.
The New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, a nonprofit created to address the health and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus, is providing $2.35 million for free legal and counseling services to thousands facing eviction, according to an announcement. The Housing New Stability Project grant will provide the Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey (HCDNNJ) with $1.89 million and Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) with $465,000, the announcement said. “The coronavirus pandemic has hit the most vulnerable the hardest, leaving many families worried about keeping a roof over their heads,” said New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy, the founding chair of NJRPF, in a statement. “We hope this grant will help stave off a pending eviction crisis by helping at-risk tenants and landlords understand their rights and navigate a complex system during these incredibly trying times.” New Jersey’s unemployment rate has increased from 3.7% to 17% during the pandemic, and renters are more likely than homeowners to be employed by industries hit hardest by the economic fallout, the announcement said, citing data from the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley, and noting that an estimated 397,000 renters have lost income due to the shutdown, putting them at risk for eviction. Renters that are the most vulnerable are minorities, single female heads of households, domestic violence victims, the chronically ill (including those who have mental illness and
" height="368"> Cathy Keenan, executive director of Volunteer Lawyers for Justice.[Photo Credit: Donna Connor-2016.] addiction), and undocumented immigrants, the organization added. Gov. Phil Murphy issued an executive order in March that suspended evictions throughout the state. But the eviction moratorium only remains in effect for two months after the governor declares an end to the COVID-19 crisis and it does not prevent eviction filings. “The Housing Stability Project is designed to be proactive,” NJPRF CEO Josh Weinreich said in a statement. The grant will allow HCDNNJ to recruit, hire and train teams of experts to advise residents directly and assist current housing counselors with their cases. The funding will also allow HCDNNJ to conduct outreach. Staci Berger , HCDNNJ president and chief executive officer, said in a statement: “We will use our extensive network of 250 members and community-based organizations across the state to provide outreach, counseling services, referrals, and tenant and landlord education.” VLJ, which has six full-time attorneys working on a range of issues, will use the funding to hire four additional full-time attorneys dedicated solely to tenancy cases and train some 200 pro bono lawyers and cover operational and administrative expenses, the announcement said. “With the increased capacity through the NJPRF grant, VLJ will have the equivalent of five staff attorneys dedicated to eviction defense work,” said Cathy Keenan , the executive director of VLJ, in a statement, noting “ a real call to action for the private bar.” Brett Tanzman, a member of the NJPRF board and counsel to the Wilf Family Foundations, said in a statement that the grant “will bring together landlords and tenants and help create efficiencies in the system.” Renters who need assistance but do not require a lawyer can be referred to one of HCDNNJ’s agencies for pre-eviction counseling. HCDNNJ will be able to refer tenants whose dispute is more advanced and complicated to VLJ for pro-bono legal services.Lowenstein Sandler Helps to Launch Law Firm Antiracism Alliance
Gary M. Wingens
Lowenstein Sandler joined a group of more than 125 U.S. law firms to launch the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance (LFAA), a coalition aimed at uniting with other organizations in an ongoing effort to identify and dismantle systemic racism in the law, including in their own firms, as well as in government institutions, Lowenstein said in an announcement. LFAA intends to leverage the resources of the private bar in partnership with legal services organizations to amplify the voices of communities and individuals oppressed by racism, to better use the law as a vehicle for change that benefits
Catherine Weiss
