In San Antonio, law students at St. Mary's University are turning their legal education into a lifeline for the city's tenants. Through the university's Consumer Protection Clinic and newly established Real Estate Clinic, aspiring attorneys are on the front lines battling against an eviction crisis that's leaving many at risk of homelessness. The clinics not only offer a crucial service to the community but also provide hands-on experience for students.
The Housing Rights Project, part of St. Mary's School of Law, is making waves by juggling education, advocacy, and frontline legal service. According to the San Antonio Report, Bexar County saw landlords file a staggering 17,900 eviction cases against tenants in 2022 alone. That's an uptick from pre-pandemic numbers, with most cases ending in favor of the property owners. Illustrating the gap in legal representation, the Housing Rights Project steps in to arm tenants with knowledge and defense they would otherwise go without.
According to the St. Mary's University website, the Housing Rights Project, fueled by the steadfast collaboration with the City of San Antonio, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, and San Antonio Legal Services Association, acts as a beacon of hope for many. With the financial backing of a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, allocated by the City of San Antonio, St. Mary's Law students are provided a platform to battle an imminent "eviction tsunami", as dubbed by visiting assistant clinical professor of law Greg Zlotnick.
In hand with such services, the Consumer Protection Clinic also tackled 332 tenant-related matters in 2022, offering advice, referrals, and direct courtroom representation. Larissa Jackson, a third-year law student, emphasized the value of this real-world interaction in an interview with the St. Mary's University, stating, "Faculty work with you to use the information you've learned through the class part of clinic and think through what would be the best outcome in this scenario for this client." Similarly, the Real Estate Clinic, started in Fall 2023, digs into issues like tangled titles. Clinic overseer, Genevieve Hébert Fajardo stressed the consequences of unclear home titles, pointing to challenges such as foreclosure, inability to make repairs, or sell property that can sink a family deeper into financial despair.
A spotlight on individual stories, such as that of homeowner Lisa Woods, who struggled without running water due to a clouded title, bolsters the clinics' impact narrative. The Real Estate Clinic's initiative to clarify such cases can pivot a family from potential ruin to recovery. Woods' tale of progression from a tangled title to tangible help from the school's law clinics, as reported by the St. Mary's University sheds light on the personal side of the housing crisis.
This integration of educational endeavor and community service underscores a commitment to curb the local eviction epidemic while fostering the next wave of legal professionals. Whether through donning costumes to educate the public about their housing rights or fielding nearly 1,300 voicemail pleas for help in 2022, St. Mary's law students are translating their legal prowess into a societal safety net.
