APPLETON (NBC 26) — Since the federal eviction moratorium ended in August, Pillars Inc. has seen a steady increase in demand for its services in recent months.
The shelter, which provides affordable housing resources for those facing homelessness, had been bracing for a spike in evictions since the moratorium was set to expire.
“We did expect to see an increase pretty much all over our service system," said Pillars supportive services director Tara Prahl. "In particular, we have a diversion prevention program that works to avoid a shelter entry for those who are are facing eviction or are staying with friends and family. We did anticipate seeing an increase for those services and we have.”
The shelter is struggling to meet the growing need, as many of its services have limited capacity.
“Our shelters run at capacity virtually every day of the year," said Pillars executive director Joe Mauthe. "Our wait lists are typically high single digits to a couple dozen people at each shelter.”
In addition, Prahl says there are at least 60 households on the wait list for the shelter’s diversion prevention program.
"We’re already at capacity which is about another 60 households and those are just the amount of people that are actually accessing our services and calling,” Prahl said.
Erica Lopez, a professor at the UW Law School Eviction Defense Clinic, says a rise in evictions has been occurring statewide since the end of the moratorium.
“We know that Wisconsin has one of the highest eviction rates in the country. In fact, Milwaukee alone is number 60 in the country,” Lopez said.
Rather than a spike in evictions, she says the increase has been gradual in recent months. For example, in Dane County, Lopez says the number of eviction filings has steadily increased in the past several weeks.
“In Dane County, October 5th the filings were 42," Lopez said. "But on November 1st and 2nd it jumped up to 73, November 8th and 9th it jumped up to 66.”
While there are federal rental assistance funds available, there are several barriers that can prevent the funds from being distributed in a timely manner.
“There are limitations on how these funds are allocated," Lopez said. "Locally in Dane County we’ve seen some technological issues that have come with the use of a new system and so there are a number of barriers in place that have increased these filings.”
For those facing eviction, it’s a slow process to get the assistance they need.
“The regulations in place make it difficult for people to certify their income, submit an application, some landlords aren’t taking applications," Lopez said. "In the state of Wisconsin, it is discriminatory not to accept rental assistance as a source of income. But in general, what we’re seeing is that there are just some barriers out there.”
But while it may be a long process, Prahl says reaching out to see what state and federal rental assistance is available is a crucial first step for tenants who are facing eviction.
“We’ve been really lucky and fortunate that the state has stepped in and our government funders have stepped in and recognized that these are unprecedented times and things are going to change," Prahl said. "There’s definitely funding out there it’s just taking that first step and calling to get that information."
To learn more about resources that are available for those facing eviction, you can visit pillarsinc.org.
