In an effort to bring social workers to the forefront of solving housing instability, the Steve Hicks School of Social Work has partnered with Main Street Renewal, a for-profit property management company, to create a pilot eviction-prevention program.
Through the CARES (Client Assessment Resources Empowerment Services) program, a a team of social work students regularly communicates with MSR’s evictions and collections team. The students advocate for residents who are delinquent in rent or anticipate having difficulty paying for it. By conducting phone-based needs assessments, the CARES team is able to gather and organize resources to aid MSR residents.
“We look at every case comprehensively,” program director and clinical professor Joan Asseff said. “We engage and try to figure out what is in the best interest of the resident, what resources are best for them and what the barriers are.”