Down on His Luck, But Not Out on the Street

Mr. Jones* felt the impact of COVID-19 immediately when his job in the medical field began to cut hours, causing him to quickly fall behind in rent. As if this wasn’t bad enough, he suffered unexpected health issues, which put him in the hospital for 3 weeks.  Mr. Jones did everything in his power to communicate with his landlord and make a plan to avoid an eviction suit. Despite his efforts, he was evicted at the Justice of the Peace level and ultimately had a judgment rendered against him. He quickly filed the proper appeal paperwork.

When SALSA received his case, it was immediately placed with a volunteer, Rand Ricklin. Rand worked relentlessly in negotiating a deal with the landlords’ counsel before the appeal hearing. After many hours of negotiation, Rand was able to strike a deal with opposing counsel. Mr. Jones had applied to the Texas Rent Relief Program and was approved for assistance totaling more than what was owed at the time so Rand used this as a negotiation tactic and was able to reach an agreement which included Mr. Jones paying what was owed to his landlord via the Texas Rent Relief Program, getting all court records sealed, and securing a lease extension to ensure that Mr. Jones would remain housed.

Mr. Jones received the best resolution possible because of Rand’s efforts: He has remained housed; he doesn’t have an eviction on his record, which could have prevented him from securing future housing; and he avoided homelessness, which has allowed this hard-working man extra time to get his finances back on track. Rand’s impact is far-reaching and will serve this deserving client long-term.

*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the client.

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