Practicum students reshape corporate practices to benefit all
When cancer forced a single grandmother raising her late brother’s four-year-old son to stop working, eviction loomed. But instead of a final notice, she received a phone call from a team of social workers at the property management company ready to help.
The team at Main Street Renewal helped her access $1,700 in rental assistance, keeping her family housed and stable. “You are a God-sent angel to me,” she wrote after securing the funds. “I want to let people know about this landlord who actually cares about people.”
Amidst a national housing crisis, this initiative represents a transformative approach to how property management companies address housing insecurity. Central to its success is a dedicated team of UT Social Work students who initially designed and piloted the program. Through an ongoing practicum, these students continue to sustain the initiative, helping families prevent eviction and achieve financial stability.
The result is helping even more families avoid eviction and become financially stable.
A pilot program to promote stability
Main Street Renewal (MSR) is a nationwide property management company based in Austin with branches in 30 cities, managing over 45,000 single-family rental properties. In 2017, they realized that hundreds of residents were falling into delinquency each month, with many of those becoming eligible for eviction.
The negative outcomes for residents were obvious. Research shows eviction is directly correlated with job loss, disconnection from social support networks, homelessness, poor physical and mental health outcomes, family stress and, sometimes, suicide. For the company, evictions also translated into financial burdens such as legal fees, costs to recruit new tenants, “make ready” costs to prepare for new tenants, forfeited income, debt and damage to their brand.
Joslyn Dobson, member of the Texas Social Work Advisory Council and shareholder of MSR’s parent company, Amherst, witnessed firsthand the impact of eviction on MSR residents. She proposed collaborating with SHS to develop a pilot program aimed at reducing eviction rates while promoting housing and financial stability for MSR residents.
“As a housing provider, I believe we have a duty to serve all stakeholders — residents, partners, communities, employees, and the environment,” said Dobson. “By forming a dedicated team, we can showcase the profound value of social work and the exceptional talents of its practitioners. Social workers are capable of extracting solutions from the most challenging circumstances, and integrating their expertise into housing and financial services supports residents while reimagining the potential impact of social work in new and innovative ways.”
The School responded with a faculty-sponsored, student-led program to develop a pilot program of intervention protocols that could be standardized and replicated throughout the company. Joan Asseff (MSSW ’06) joined UT Social Work to lead the effort, where she recruited four graduate students to develop an evidence-based model to support families in avoiding eviction. With MSR team members, they named their team the Client Assessment Resources Empowerment Services team or CARES.
Building success for residents and students
Within the first year of the program, eviction rates went down. Of the 111 residents who received full intervention services in the pilot program, more than 50% were still in their homes and 35% had reached financial stability, which the CARES team and MSR defined as having a zero balance 90 days after intervention.
Expansion and growth
Within two years, the CARES team had intervened with 537 residents, positively impacting the lives of 306 families with children and providing 988 referrals. Four MSSW students that had been placed at MSR went on to work in housing policy and administration for the state of Texas, creating long-term impact in emergency housing, homelessness and low-income housing assistance programs.
The program is now an integral part of MSR’s operations, supported by full-time social workers, program specialists, a housing counselor, and social work interns from UT Social Work. Several interns have transitioned into full-time roles with CARES, including Allison Rottenberg (MSSW ’20), who began in 2018 as an MSSW first-field intern and today is the director of CARES.
Maryam Moghaddam (MSSW ’20), who also played a pivotal role in launching the MSR CARES program during her time at UT Social Work, now serves as a lead CARES program specialist at MSR. “As a proud alum of UT Social Work, I am inspired to continue this industry-leading program that empowers residents through challenging times. By connecting individuals to local resources and offering emotional support, we demonstrate the true essence of social work in action, uplifting both residents and the company alike.”
Since 2021, Moghaddam has also contributed to the development of future social workers by serving as a practicum field instructor for SHS students.
Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated team of SHS interns, what began as an experimental pilot project has evolved into a comprehensive, mainstream program supported by a team of nine full-time staff members. The program has expanded to include new initiatives, such as financial empowerment and housing counseling, and the CARES team members continue to serve as strong advocates for residents, helping them navigate community resources and address their needs within MSR.
“Nothing replaces the learning opportunities of practicum. Students learn the nuances of direct practice and how ethical considerations are made in the moment,” said Asseff. “They are building a muscle, and it takes practice.”