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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Mariners launch $3 million effort to combat homelessness

Joda Logan, right, who was assisted from being evicted after a long hospital stay by the King County Bar Association Housing Justice Project, talks with Lauren McGowan, senior director of Ending Homelessness at United Way of King County, after a news conference about the launch of a community partnership to help tackle King County’s homelessness crisis Friday, Dec. 14, 2018, in Seattle. The United Way of King County, King County Bar Association and Seattle Mariners announced a community partnership to help tackle homelessness by reducing the number of people who lose their homes due to eviction, a leading cause of homelessness. (Elaine Thompson / AP)
Associated Press

SEATTLE – The Seattle Mariners have pledged $3 million for a new effort to prevent low-income renters facing eviction from falling into homelessness.

The Seattle Times reports the team’s contribution to the Home Base partnership will beef up staffing at the Housing Justice Project, a legal clinic sponsored by the King County Bar Association that provides legal advice and counsel to area renters. The partnership will also provide funding to help tenants facing eviction pay fines and back rent.

About $2 million of the Mariners’ contribution will go into the fund for renters who are in arrears. The rest will go toward hiring additional case managers and lawyers to staff clinics in Seattle and Kent.

The partners estimate they could help as many as 4,000 people.