Basic Information
Program Name
| Pittsburgh’s Eviction Diversion through Mediation Program: Just Mediation |
Short Description
This program offers free mediation services for landlords and tenants prior to filing for an eviction. It provides the same services for cases that have been filed but have not yet been granted a judgment.
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Duration
Currently in piloting phase
Funding
$50,000 from City of Pittsburgh’s Community Development Block Grant. Applications for an additional $200,000 in funding is out for review.
Size (number of beneficiaries)
Target size: pool of 25 mediators willing to mediate 150 Landlord-Tenant cases. With increased funding, capacity could increase to 500 cases/year
Stakeholders
Who designed and set up the program?
Mediation Council of Western PA, NLC Cohort Leads (representatives from the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations and Pittsburgh Foundation), and community stakeholders
Who runs and manages the program?
The Mediation Council of Western PA
Who funds the program?
Funding from the City of Pittsburgh’s Community Development Block Grant ($50,000) has been allocated to the pilot. Stakeholders have applied for additional federal and foundation money to expand the Program to Allegheny County.
Intended Beneficiaries: Who does the program target?
This program targets tenants and landlords.
Program Details
How does the program work? What are the typical paths of action that the beneficiary + the service-provider take?
What assets can be shared for others to use?
Evidence Base
What are the plans for monitoring and evaluation?
Monitoring will be done through: reporting the percent of cases mediated successfully, assessing the amount of financial assistance needed and the source of funding, other referrals made to service providers, data from landlord-tenant dockets to ensure cases did not later move towards evictions, patterns of landlords utilizing mediation into the future, and surveys post-mediation. These surveys will ask about the likelihood of using mediation services in the future.
