The coming flood

I am a second-year MSW (master’s in social work) student with Eastern Washington University. I am taking an advocacy class, and my group is doing our advocacy on tenant rights, and the upcoming evictions.

“It’s going to be a tsunami of people in need,” predicted Carol Weltz, Spokane director of community action for SNAP, “and we don’t have the funds to help all those people.” (Spokesman-Review, June 2020).

- Renters in Washington reported an eviction rate five times higher than the national average. In Eastern Washington, 13.5% reported having been evicted in 2018.

- According to Northwest Justice Project’s Scott Crain, approximately 60,000 to 140,000 people in Washington state are in danger of eviction or default on their mortgage.

- People living below the poverty line are disproportionately affected by evictions.

- Half of all renters are people of color, and statistically experience greater rent increases. Black and Latinx adults have almost seven times higher eviction rates than white adults.

- Rent increases disproportionately affect seniors and individuals with disabilities who rely on fixed incomes.

Some proposed solutions include:

-Spokane County Superior Court has established a pilot Eviction Resolution Program created to connect landlords and tenants with available resources for early identification and problem-solving.

-Spokane Alliance’s Housing Equity Action Research Team is working on increasing affordable housing options and protecting tenant rights in the West Central neighborhood of Spokane.

Brooklyn Johnson

Spokane Valley