Dr. Stephen Sills (Center for Housing and Community Studies) received new funding from the Foundation for a Healthy High Point. Dr. Kenneth Gruber and Bruce Rich are co-principal investigators on the project.
Prior to COVID-19, half of renters in High Point were considered “cost-burdened,” spending more than 30% of their income on housing-related expenses (ACS 2014-2018). The rate of evictions for High Point was already 6.06%, higher than the national average #4 in the state. July 2020 data for Greensboro-High Point MSA from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that we have shot up from under 4% unemployment to over 14%, displacing over 30,000 workers from our local economy. While officials instituted housing protection legislation during the COVID-19 crisis to prevent evictions, that protection has partially lapsed and not all qualify under the current moratorium. UNCG CHCS and our community partners are trying to get in front of this issue by providing mediation between landlords seeking overdue rent and tenants facing eviction.
The researchers’ project will assist tenants in navigating existing and new community support while also matching disputing parties with trained mediators and instruments to reach timely resolution of their cases. The researchers’ goal is to preserve tenancy, reduce cost-burden, and assure landlords of being reimbursed for rental arrears. With funding from the Foundation for a Healthy High Point, they will extend their Mediation Program to include residents of High Point who are currently facing eviction.
