Page 40 - 2025 May June Magazine

TACOMAPROBONO COMMUNITY LAWYERS By Laurie Davenport
KNOCKING DOWN BARRIERS TO FINDING STABLE
HOUSING - New Housing Justice Project Clinics
FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION, CLAIMING
DIGNITY, SAFETY AND RESPECT
- Name Change Clinic
The Housing Justice Project
(HJP) is the largest program at
Tacomaprobono Community
Lawyers. HJP staff attorneys
provide both eviction defense
for low-income tenants facing
eviction hearings and holistic
eviction prevention support
for low-income tenants needing
resolution of issues involving
their tenancy which may present barriers to keeping stable
housing such as repairs, lockouts, utility shutoffs, move-out
and move-in issues, habitability, discrimination, past evictions,
repayment plans, enforcement of Tacoma’s Landlord Fairness
Code and more.
NEW Tenants’ Rights Clinics - HJP is now providing
regularly scheduled Tenants’ Rights Clinics at a variety of
locations in the City of Tacoma and Pierce County, including the
newly reopened Tacoma Public Libraries’ Main Branch; we thank
Tacoma Public Libraries, the Puyallup Public Library, City of
Lakewood and Sumner/Bonney Lake Family Resource Center for
your partnership in helping HJP expand its eviction prevention
services.
NEW LFO and Blake Clinic - To further focus on specific
barriers to obtaining housing, HJP attorneys are now staffing
a monthly clinic to help tenants with removing legal financial
obligations (LFOs) and unlawful drug possession charges.
Tacomaprobono
Community
Lawyers is proud
to partner with
Oasis Youth
Center to provide
legal advice and
representation
to individuals
seeking name and
gender marker
changes in Pierce
County courts.
The Name Change
Clinics are hosted at both organizations and are tailored
to meet the needs of clients across age groups. Youth
under 25 are served at Oasis, where they receive not only
legal support but also comprehensive, youth-directed
wraparound services. Clients over 25 are served through
Tacomaprobono’s clinics, where they receive assistance
with District or Superior Court name change petitions. In
addition to court filings, our attorneys help clients navigate
essential post-order updates, including changes to driver’s
licenses, Social Security records, passports, and other
governmental documentation.
This work is deeply impactful, affirming each individual’s
right to live authentically and with dignity. We are
especially grateful to volunteer attorneys Liz Johnson and
John Cummings, and to the Robert J. Bryan American
Inns of Court Chapter, whose leadership and training
efforts have been instrumental in creating and sustaining
these clinics. We welcome attorneys who are interested in
volunteering for this meaningful work.
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
WE’RE RECRUITING BOARD MEMBERS!
LFOs and criminal records in a prospective tenant’s
background often prevent them from securing housing. In
2018, Washington passed legislation addressing the burdens
LFOs have created, allowing individuals to access a legal
process to reduce or eliminate certain court-imposed fines,
fees, and restitution. In 2021, the Washington State Supreme
Court issued a landmark ruling in State v. Blake, holding that
many drug possession charges from 1971 to 2021 violated due
process and should be vacated, amended, or dismissed. The
decision invalidated thousands of drug convictions, which
led to the creation of Blake petitions allowing individuals to
seek relief from their prior drug possession convictions. We
are excited that this new clinic will help numerous tenants
hampered by LFOs or invalidated drug possession charges
remove those barriers.
This is an exciting time in our development. We are a
young organization which has exponential growth over
the past seven years due to the increasing needs of our
communities. Access to the legal system has never been
more critical. Housing instability, family safety, and
domestic violence are daily threats to a significant portion
of Washington’s population.
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