Trump Budget Plan Would Have ‘Devastating Impact’ On Legal Services For NYC’s Poor (Gothamist)
Gothamist, March 10, 2017
Trump Budget Plan Would Have ‘Devastating Impact’ On Legal Services For NYC’s Poor
“In civil court, as in criminal court, studies have shown that simply having a lawyer greatly improves one’s outcomes—for example, a study by the Legal Aid Society and New York City Bar Association found that once tenants have lawyers in housing court, their chances of being evicted drop by 77 percent….There is also an economic argument. In advocating for low-income tenants having the right to counsel in housing court, which the city recently committed to, the New York City Bar Association commissioned a study by financial analysts, who found that spending $199 million on housing lawyers for all people making less than $48,000 would save $251 million in annual shelter costs, $259 million worth of preserved affordable housing, and $9 million in hospitalization, law enforcement, and other costs associated with street homelessness. Similarly, LSC asserts that in 2014, services to domestic violence survivors saved $85 million in medical and mental health costs, and lost wages and productivity.”
