Northwest Neighborhoods protects its residential tenants from evictions
August 5, 2024
Since Fall 2023, Northwest Neighborhoods has taken a fresh, organization-wide approach to protect our residential tenants from eviction pressures. Our nonprofit owns and manages 350+ units of income-restricted housing in 15 properties, and, as an affordable housing provider, we have unique abilities to help our residents thrive in our west-side communities.
“This kind of community development work is really innovative in Cleveland,” said Bridget Kent Márquez, Executive Director of Northwest Neighborhoods. “We’re creating a tenant-centered model for our affordable housing, recognizing our residents as vital members of our neighborhoods.”
Through our “Eviction Diversion” initiative, NWN has intervened in 50+ cases of residents’ eviction risks in less than one year and avoided 100% of potential evictions. Our staff and board members proactively identify residents with risk factors – unpaid rent, missed recertification of government subsidies, neighbor disputes, and more. On a case-by-case basis, our team has created “off ramps” from the traditional eviction process.
Eviction Diversion interventions have varied considerably by case and have included:
compassionate and trauma-informed meetings with residents, without threats of eviction, to establish payment or recertification plans;
calls, text messages, letters, or door-knocking to reestablish contact with unresponsive residents;
proactive (re)connection with assistance providers like EDEN, Inc., Joseph & Mary's Home, and CHN Housing Partners;
collaboration with Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH) for residents experiencing crises;
convening resident group meetings at our Aspen Place property to collaboratively address security concerns.
Northwest Neighborhoods is greatly appreciative of our many local partnerships in this housing-first approach, including Cleveland Housing Solutions, EDEN, Inc., The Centers, Barton Communities, NEOCH, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, and Parma Public Housing Agency. We are also seeking additional resources to support our work. Eviction Diversion would benefit greatly from:
paths to permanent supportive housing without requiring a resident to endure homelessness;
unrestricted funds to help residents manage their bills during hardships.
Eviction Diversion is guided by our organization’s 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, which, thanks to broad community input, established a primary goal to “Maintain, provide, and increase housing affordability for residents with low incomes.” NWN’s values of equity, empathy, creativity, collaboration, integrity, and courage have driven every step of this evolution of our property management and tenant services.
To learn more about Eviction Diversion, please contact us at info@nwneighborhoods.org.