Basic Information
Program Name
Short Description
The RENT Project offers tenant education workshops in Pima County, Arizona. Volunteer attorneys and students from the University of Arizona run educational workshops on renter rights & responsibilities in partnership with local organizations throughout Pima County.
Location
Tucson and Pima County, Arizona
Duration
It began in June 2019 and is planning to continue at least until December 2020.
Funding
Funding is provided by the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona
Size (number of beneficiaries)
100+, as of February 2020
Stakeholders
Who designed and set up the program?
The curriculum was built through a series of participatory design workshops to target knowledge gaps in the low-income community and continues to be adapted to fit community need.
Who runs and manages the program?
The University of Arizona’s Innovation for Justice (i4J) program and the non-profit Step Up to Justice partner to manage this program. Workshops are run by volunteer attorneys and volunteer students.
Intended Beneficiaries: Who does the program target?
Tenants in Pima County, Arizona
Program Details
How does the program work? What are the typical paths of action that the beneficiary + the service-provider take?
Volunteer attorneys and students from the University of Arizona run educational workshops on renter rights & responsibilities in partnership with local organizations throughout Pima County.
The information presented in these educational workshops is supplemented by take-home tenant resources for all attendees. These resources are accessible on the RENT Project’s website as well.
Attendees to a RENT Project Workshop can expect to:
– Learn about renter rights and responsibilities as a tenant
– Be prepared for the events that can lead to eviction
– Be eligible to earn a $20 gift card
Workshop participants are invited to participate in a survey 6 months after their attendance at a RENT Project workshop and information will be collected about whether tenant education can help reduce evictions.
Attendees who successfully complete the follow-up survey 6 months after their workshop attendance will be compensated with a $20 gift card.
The RENT Project Workshops last approximately one hour and the associated follow-up survey will take participants approximately 10 minutes.
What assets can be shared for others to use?
The RENT Project’s curriculum plan is at its website, here.
In addition, it has handouts and fliers that it makes available for download, that can be models for other tenant education programs.
- Understanding the Eviction Process map flier
- What Arizona Tenants Need to Know flier
- What to Do If You Can’t Pay Rent flier
- Top 10 Renter Tips flier
- Tips for Tenants Record Keeping flier
- Tenant Resource sheet with all rental resources for Pima County tenants
- Tenant Responsibilities flier for Arizona tenants
- Domestic Violence survivor’s ending a lease guide, in a flier
- Understanding Habitability rental problems guide flier
Soon there will also be videos from the workshops, so that people can see the curriculum virtually.
The RENT Project’s handouts and guides
Explore them in detail on the RENT project’s curriculum page.
Evidence Base
What are the plans for monitoring and evaluation?
Evaluation includes post-workshop surveys with participants 6 months after workshop, and review of court eviction data.
Have any evaluations been conducted so far?
Evaluation is ongoing and will be completed in December 2020.
Contact and Follow-Up Info
Program Website
Documentation + Links
The RENT project materials, including the curriculum, and background information on Arizona housing are at the Tucson RENT Project website.
Point of Contact for more information
Stacy Butler, Director, Innovation for Justice at University of Arizona Law School, at
stacybutler@arizona.edu
