How Advocacy Organizations Are Addressing Milwaukee's Eviction Crisis: Making Social Change One Case at a Time
Mentor 1
Jamie Harris
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
5-4-2019 1:30 PM
End Date
5-4-2019 3:30 PM
Description
The city of Milwaukee, redeclared in 2013 as the most racially segregated city in America, suffers from an abundance of inequalities derived from decades of job loss, disinvestment, growing poverty, neighborhood decline, hypersegregation, and racial discrimination. One of the most glaring inequalities is seen in the housing market, particularly for renters. The crisis of affordable housing and evictions in Milwaukee has been well documented, most recently in Matthew Desmond’s 2016 book, Evicted. A number of organizations in Milwaukee are working to address the eviction crisis and the reasons that lead to it. Legal Action of Wisconsin is one such advocacy group; they started the Eviction Defense Project, which provides pro-bono legal services that allow low-income residents to seek legal assistance or representation for their eviction cases. As part of my service learning, I was able to directly observe the process of an eviction hearing at court through field observations of court proceedings, conducting survey research for UW-Milwaukee, and speaking directly with Milwaukee County residents facing eviction in informal interviews. Through these experiences, I was able to see how the epidemic of poverty that Milwaukee faces intersects with the legal system and advocacy organizations and programs, such as Legal Action and the Eviction Defense Project. By working closely with an advocacy organization for six months, I was able to understand the complexity of the legal system as it relates to eviction cases and the challenges poor families face in a precarious housing market, as well as the importance of advocacy organizations and their contributions toward social change.
How Advocacy Organizations Are Addressing Milwaukee's Eviction Crisis: Making Social Change One Case at a Time
Union Wisconsin Room
The city of Milwaukee, redeclared in 2013 as the most racially segregated city in America, suffers from an abundance of inequalities derived from decades of job loss, disinvestment, growing poverty, neighborhood decline, hypersegregation, and racial discrimination. One of the most glaring inequalities is seen in the housing market, particularly for renters. The crisis of affordable housing and evictions in Milwaukee has been well documented, most recently in Matthew Desmond’s 2016 book, Evicted. A number of organizations in Milwaukee are working to address the eviction crisis and the reasons that lead to it. Legal Action of Wisconsin is one such advocacy group; they started the Eviction Defense Project, which provides pro-bono legal services that allow low-income residents to seek legal assistance or representation for their eviction cases. As part of my service learning, I was able to directly observe the process of an eviction hearing at court through field observations of court proceedings, conducting survey research for UW-Milwaukee, and speaking directly with Milwaukee County residents facing eviction in informal interviews. Through these experiences, I was able to see how the epidemic of poverty that Milwaukee faces intersects with the legal system and advocacy organizations and programs, such as Legal Action and the Eviction Defense Project. By working closely with an advocacy organization for six months, I was able to understand the complexity of the legal system as it relates to eviction cases and the challenges poor families face in a precarious housing market, as well as the importance of advocacy organizations and their contributions toward social change.
