Author Archives: bill b

Help Save “The Central” (Central Area Senior Center)!!!

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Sunday, March 9 there is a benefit concert for the Central Area Senior Center; direct donations are also needed

To save and sustain the Central Area Senior Center, a Benefit Concert will be held this Sunday, March 9 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Center, located at Rainier Beach High School, 8815 Seward Park Avenue South.  Performers will include J. Charles, Darrius Willrich, CT Thompson, Butch Harrison, IFE, Rachell Foxx, Surround Sound, Sheila Kay, Debbie Cavitt, Leo Camo, Funk E Fusion, and surprise guest artists.  Light refreshments will be available.  Tickets ($50) and info are at Brown Paper Tickets, http://thecentralbenefitconcert.bpt.me, directly from the Central Area Senior Center, or at the door.

Founded in 1972, the Central Area Senior Center is a volunteer-supported nonprofit resource providing services to support the emotional, social and physical well-being of older adults and their families.  It also hosts many public meetings, including those of the Seattle Community Council Federation and the Seattle Neighborhood Coalition.

If you can’t attend the benefit concert, please consider making a donation on-line at https://the-central.org/support/donate  or by U.S. mail at:  Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Avenue South 98144.  And please help circulate this notice about the benefit concert and the importance of this neighborhood resource.

Fighting Eviction

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A Capitol Hill activist recently sent around this useful information:

Recently I attempted to help a neighbor fight an eviction. We are hopeful that we will be successful.

Given the rapid displacement of our neighbors, especially those with limited resources, perhaps you might soon find yourself with a neighbor who needs some help. If you know attorneys who might be willing to do pro bono work in this area, it would be nice to have some neighborhood referral resources for this.

I have compiled the below action steps and resources. This is not legal advice. I am not an attorney. And perhaps someone else knows a better process. But this is what I found to be most helpful and what I learned through my research and meetings with my neighbor and our meetings with advocates.

  1. Ask if the resident is willing to share their eviction papers, lease, and any other correspondence / notices. Make extra copies for the resident (and for yourself, with permission) so that as you both meet with folks, you can share / mark them up. Scan clean copies so that they are email-able to attorneys who want to review the documents in order to decide if they are willing to take the case.

  2. Read the relevant sections of the “tenant rights handbook” and the “eviction response packet” together (see below).The most important thing to do is meet any deadlines with the appropriate legal forms.

  3. Assess wether there are options for private legal representation (perhaps the resident’s friends or family might help)

  4. Explore public options. My first stop would be the Northwest Justice Project at the courthouse downtown: 3rd floor. Arrive at 7:45 and put your name on the clipboard for a consultation. The link below tells what paperwork to bring to this meeting. The person being evicted must be present and willing to sign paperwork about income level in order to receive legal advice on the case.

  5. Help the resident decide whether they will respond to the eviction with attorney representation (private or public) or “pro se” if neither are possible. If pro se, use the legal documents in the  “eviction response packet” as your guide. READ CAREFULLY AND MEET ALL DEADLINES WITH THE OPPOSING PARTY’S ATTORNEY AND WITH THE COURT CLERK’S OFFICE

That is as far as I got with this neighbor, since an attorney has now taken her case. Hooray! Resources…

Housing Justice Project — free attorney consultation / representation www.kcba.org/pbs/HJP.aspx

 

Tenant rights handbook eviction on pages 15-19

http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/files/C9D2EA3F-0350-D9AF-ACAE-BF37E9BC9FFA/attachments/B6683A5E-C507-4E9B-8A22-02055EC445C5/6300en.pdf

Eviction response packet   http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/files/C9D2EA3F-0350-D9AF-ACAE-BF37E9BC9FFA/attachments/819A0BA1-F856-49A6-8782-E316D85F834B/6310en.pdf

Attorney General resource list  for complaints about discrimination, low income housing, senior issues

http://www.atg.wa.gov/ResidentialLT/default.aspx#.UwO3tGRDu0w

Tenant rights  http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/issues/housing/tenants-rights

Just Cause Eviction in Seattle–Tenant Information https://www.seattle.gov/dpd/cs/groups/pan/@pan/documents/web_informational/dpdd016420.pdf

Self-representation Pro Se  http://www.courts.wa.gov/programs_orgs/pos_bja/ptc/documents/SuperiorCourtProSeLitigantInformation.pdf

 Solid Ground (Fremont)  Homelessness prevention programs and tenant services

http://www.solid-ground.org/Programs/Housing/Counseling/Pages/default.aspx