Are you working on building a better coalition of services for tenants at risk of eviction, or who have recently been evicted?
You may try a 1-2 hour Service Mapping exercise to build a better regional coalition & establish a resource directory that different legal, financial, housing, and government groups can use to connect people with local resources that can help them.
Our team has made a Service Mapping template whiteboard, that you can use on Mural (an online whiteboard application). This whiteboard can help you run a Service Mapping session with your regional group. Find instructions on how to run this session at the How-To Guide from the Eviction Prevention Learning Lab.
Here is quick overview of how to do service mapping:
Make this map with a group of stakeholders in your region.
The mapping session is an opportunity to learn about the direct & indirect services that can help a person in need.
Have 1-2 people facilitate this session.
1 person asks the questions & makes sure stakeholders from different groups can highlight their services. Ask followup questions!
1 person takes notes in the colored rectangles & then groups/arranges.
Once you are done with the mapping session, then you can:
Clean up the map & screenshot each zone. Share those with the group.
Make a referral directory in a Google Sheet or Doc, to share among the group.
Write a short strategy memo about key areas for improvement. And a Gap Analysis of where services are missing.
Jackson County, Michigan has an Eviction Diversion Program that lets tenants opt into the program, have mediation, legal services, and emergency assistance if they qualify. The goal is to help deal with underlying issues in the landlord-tenant relationship, and the holistic set of problems the tenant is dealing with.
The new Texas statewide eviction diversion program offers help during COVID-19 to renters and landlords. It applies once a lawsuit has been filed, and tenants are behind on rent.