Vanessa Raymond Garcia, RHLS Policy Analyst, and Kaitlin Grant, RHLS 2020 summer intern and 3L Candidate at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, recently presented at the American Public Health Association Annual Conference on the issue of the Violence Against Women Act as it applies to federally funded housing and eviction. The purpose of the presentation was to highlight the work that RHLS has been doing to connect the dots between housing as a vital component of health, and the practical implications of preventing the eviction of survivors of domestic violence.
The health impacts of domestic violence and sexual assault extend far beyond the immediate physical injuries from acts of violence. Adequate housing – including safe housing — is both a fundamental human right and a social determinant of health. The health impacts extend beyond the physical harms and also deeply impact children in the household. The loss of housing stability adds more trauma and layers of difficulty. RHLS has been making this connection between housing policy and legal rights in the area of survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking and the barriers that they face in accessing safe housing.
In her presentation, Kaitlin made important points: “Housing providers can be the best first responder to survivors after they finally get the strength to help themselves. Considering the agencies designated to enforce VAWA regulations implement loose guidelines, housing providers can be creative when helping these victims. For example, in Austin, Texas, the SAFE Alliance is a victim service and social change nonprofit organization. They work with a LIHTC apartment community by providing support services, case management, and education. They also have a client assistance emergency fund to assist with utility, rent, and other needs that put housing in danger and created a Resident Appeal Process. Housing providers need to take the lead in developing and implementing housing policies that allow survivors the right to live like everyone else.”
Vanessa Raymond-Garcia emphasized the importance of making the rights from VAWA available to survivors: “Many survivors are unaware of the rights and protections available to them under VAWA and the burden often falls on survivors themselves to advocate for basic needs, such as the right to the physical safety. Developers, property managers, and local housing finance agencies must do more to enforce these rights for survivors to get the help they need, especially in moments of crisis. We created these resources to ensure more of these rights and protections are available to survivors by highlighting the gaps and encouraging advocacy.”
Rachel Blake, RHLS’s Director of Strategic Initiatives, helped author this presentation. Together with Karlo Ng, formerly of the National Alliance for Safe Housing, and now with HUD, she has been examining the issues surrounding survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking and the barriers they face in accessing safe housing. In 2013, the Violence Against Women Act’s (VAWA) housing protections were amended to apply to housing created using federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC).
However, Treasury failed to implement VAWA in LIHTC, an omission that resulted in a patchwork of actions from state agencies administering LIHTC. Some state agencies worked to educate tenants and property owners about these rights but aren’t using their power to indicate the importance of VAWA. Two critical public-facing program documents, the Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) and Compliance Manual (CM) cataloged how each state addressed VAWA. Regional Housing Legal Services reviewed the available text of these documents for each state through fall 2020 and created maps allowing advocates to see state comparisons.
Even though there is not enough implementation of VAWA in LIHTC, the number of states that mention VAWA in their QAP or CM increased between 2015-2020. About half of the states across the country articulate critical VAWA protections. RHLS is committed to improving the understanding of VAWA in LIHTC to help keep survivors stably housed. To learn more about VAWA rights in LIHTC housing, visit VAWAHome.com, a collaborative project between RHLS and NASH that is a resource for advocates and others. You can see the research that went into this presentation and much more.