The EDC helps to prevent homelessness, preserve affordable housing, and protect the diversity of San Francisco by providing targeted legal services and emergency rental assistance to tenants who are facing eviction. Our legal staff assists around 2,500 households per year in responding to their evictions and we provide limited representation at court-mandated settlement conferences. In addition to legal services the EDC offers rental assistance in the form of grants and interest-free loans. This collaboration between focused and efficient legal services and far-reaching rental assistance and support services has allowed the EDC to lead the way in eviction defense, with organizations replicating our model in cities across the country.
There are many opportunities for an associate to be integrated into our organization. Since our founding twelve years ago, the EDC has expanded the scope of assistance by targeting the most essential gaps in assistance to tenants facing eviction. There are several ways the addition of an associate will assist in the development of a comprehensive program in eviction defense.
One important project would be to supplement the limited representation for tenants at settlement negotiations with direct representation on the morning of trial for those tenants who are unable to come to a settlement. Settlement conferences are generally scheduled for Wednesday or Thursday and trial the following Monday, so there is virtually no time for a tenant who is unable to come to an agreement to get representation in time for trial. Most cases settle at the settlement conference, but the lack of representation for trial hurts every tenant in the negotiation process and is a severe hardship for those who are unable to come to an agreement. The associate could help organize volunteers to provide assistance as well as directly represent tenants for trial. This would be a fantastic opportunity for an associate to get valuable trial preparation, negotiation, client contact, and direct court experience and to make a big difference in the lives of some of San Francisco's most vulnerable tenants.
Another project would be to expand the ability of the EDC to take more cases for full-scope representation from the beginning of the case. Because of the extremely high volume of cases, the EDC can generally only provide assistance to tenants representing themselves in pro. per. in the eviction process and limited representation during settlement conference. Although we do screen tenants and refer cases to other legal service groups, there is only capacity to place a small percentage of the cases we see with full-scope representation by an attorney. Because unlawful detainer actions are expedited, often one can see a case from beginning to end in a matter of weeks, working with all phases of litigation - case evaluation, pleadings, discovery, negotiations, court appearances, and resolution of the case - for each case. The addition of an associate able to work on cases at full representation could have a tremendous impact on the number of cases that end positively for tenants.
An additional possibility would be to further develop the EDC's holistic assistance for tenants facing eviction, ensuring that we address not only the immediate concerns of the legal eviction process, but also looking further at ways to help tenants to stabilize their precarious housing positions. This would involve deepening the partnership between our legal and rental assistance components, expanding on our relationships with other service providers, and enhancing our assessment tools. A fellow working on this project would get substantial direct client contact and would make a concrete difference in people's lives.
Because we have a strong, vibrant volunteer program, the EDC is able to be very flexible in terms of time offered. We will work with the associate to tailor their respective projects to an appropriate timeline as well as individual interest. The above mentioned proposals are a jumping-off point based on the EDC's experience with which the organization would be happy to further develop along with the individual. We welcome creative ideas for furthering the development of our eviction defense program, enabling the organization to better serve the tenants of San Francisco.