House keys sit on an eviction notice received in the mail. (Getty Images)
“Day in and out I work to make ends meet. Luckily, I can come home at the end of the day to my wife and two daughters. As a father, I do everything to make sure my family is living a happy life. Because I am the sole provider for my family, some days are exhausting, but I am so grateful my wife can stay at home with our 4- and 2-year-old daughters. Everything was good until my family got sick with strep throat. My job is physically demanding and I was out of work for two weeks.
I’m finally well enough to go back, but we’re short two weeks of income and can’t pay our rent along with other living expenses. After trying to make small payments, we received an eviction notice on the 5th of the month. We have no family here and none of our friends are financially stable enough to help. This was the first time we had ever experienced something like this, so we didn’t know where to turn. Jesse Tree contacted us before our court date asking if we wanted to take part in pre-court mediation. With their support, we made a pay-to-stay agreement with our landlord. Jesse Tree paid our remaining balance and connected us to resources that helped us get back on our feet. Thanks to Jesse Tree, we avoided an eviction, the stress of a sudden move-out, and homelessness.”
Treasure Valley evictions are on the rise, but rent aid is working to keep Idahoans in their homes
This is not my story, but this is a common experience among Treasure Valley residents like the Taylors. The Taylor family had never experienced housing instability so the eviction process was foreign to them. Pre-court mediation helped them tell their story, work out a plan with their landlord, and ultimately get their case dismissed.
Stories like this are not uncommon. In 2023, eviction filings more than doubled from 818 cases to 2,307 in Ada and Canyon County. However, 1,571 of those cases were dismissed. We have seen a direct connection in the number of eviction case dismissals because of Jesse Tree’s mediation work in the courts.
Why does mediation make such an impact? In an article by Eric Leake from Texas State University, he explains that leaving room for empathy allows us to see ourselves in the lives of others and acknowledge shared vulnerabilities. Leake emphasizes that we all have shared humanity. In this case, a need for stable housing is a shared similarity that transcends individual differences, circumstances and life stories.
Mediation allows tenants to share their stories with landlords, property managers and attorneys who otherwise might not have the opportunity to see the humanity on the other side of the table. As humans, it is easy to attribute one’s circumstances to something they did, rather than something out of their control. This is why Jesse Tree’s pre-court mediation in Canyon County and court-ordered mediation in Ada County are as impactful as they are.
According to the Idaho Policy Institute, Ada and Canyon County are the only major counties in Idaho that have stayed below the state average in evictions. These are the only Idaho counties where Jesse Tree is involved in the mediation process. Even with the discontinuation of Canyon County’s mediation program in June 2023, Jesse Tree pivoted and offered pre-court mediation services, keeping Canyon County below the state average and families out of homelessness.
You can help people like the Taylor family stay in their homes by donating, volunteering and spreading the word about Jesse Tree. In our 2023 Eviction Report, Jesse Tree highlighted the importance of homelessness prevention. It costs Ada County taxpayers $53,000 per year for one person living on the streets and up to $15,000 to rehouse a family after they fall into homelessness. With the help that Jesse Tree provides, it costs $2,000 to keep a family safely housed.
Eviction prevention is vital work that you can be part of. Help us help people open the door to a sustainable future and keep the Treasure Valley a stable place for people to live.
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