Topic: Housing

Topic: Housing

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Rocky Mount—Congratulations to the Community Economic Development (CED) team in our Wilson office, which was honored by OIC Rocky Mount at its recent Vision Award ceremony for the team’s work on racial justice and health equity in Rocky Mount.

OIC recognized the team for its contribution to the “Transforming Rocky Mount” cohort, a group comprised of Legal Aid attorneys, the NC Association of Community Development Corporations, OIC’s federally qualified health clinic, and the Steering Committee of the Community Academy, a grassroots group.

Our CED team addressed racial housing segregation, which the cohort had identified as a social determinant of health, by helping Rocky Mount residents address inequitable housing policies and change the way patients are treated at the OIC clinic.

Members of Legal Aid’s CED team in Wilson include Yolanda Taylor, managing attorney of our Wilson office; Alecia Amoo, CED and housing attorney; Jocelyn Bolton-Wilson, CED and housing attorney; and outreach paralegal India Silver.

Special thanks to David Sobie, a paralegal and data expert in our Winston-Salem office, who works with the IT team from the City of Rocky Mount and OIC to overlap our client data with OIC’s patient data.

Topic: Housing

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RALEIGH—In a unanimous opinion published today (see below for link), the state Supreme Court overthrew the eviction of one of our clients, ruling that the local housing authority violated her lease agreement by failing to sufficiently explain why it evicted her.

While the ruling represents a victory for our client, it also strengthens the rights of all public housing tenants in North Carolina, making this a statewide win for housing justice worth celebrating.

Please join us in congratulating the Legal Aid attorneys who worked on this case and our co-counsel, Robinson Bradshaw attorneys Erik Zimmerman and Ethan White, for their advocacy.

The Legal Aid attorneys who worked on this case, which originated in our Raleigh office in 2018 but went on to involve advocates throughout our firm, are Celia Pistolis, the head of our appellate practice group; Andrew Cogdell, former head of our housing practice group, who retired in 2020; Darren Chester, a staff attorney in our Central Intake Unit; D.J. Dore, a supervising attorney in our Durham office; and Tommy Holderness, a supervising attorney in our Charlotte office’s housing unit.

We also thank partners Disability Rights NC, the NC Justice Center, NC Housing Coalition, NC Coalition to End Homelessness and the NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, all of which submitted a joint amicus brief.

Read the opinion.

Topic: Housing

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DURHAM—Richard Rothstein, the acclaimed author of The Color of Law (2017), will give a free public lecture via Zoom on Thursday, March 18, from 12-1 p.m.

Rothstein’s lecture will mark the launch of a speaker series organized by the Durham Eviction Diversion Program to raise funds for the new Durham Rental Assistance Fund, which will make direct payments to Durham tenants facing eviction for nonpayment of rent.

Lecture attendees who are able to do so are encouraged to make a donation to the new Durham Rental Assistance Fund. To donate, use our online donation form and select “Durham Rental Assistance Fund (Rothstein event)” from the “Donation Designation” drop-down menu. Those who donate $250 or more will receive a free copy of The Color Law by mail.

Following Rothstein’s lecture, Legal Aid advocates will lead a discussion of how attendees can support equality and justice in North Carolina.

Richard Rothstein is a research associate of the Economic Policy Institute and a Fellow at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He lives in California, where he is a Fellow of the Haas Institute at the University of California–Berkeley.

The Durham Eviction Diversion Program is a partnership of Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Durham office, the Civil Justice Clinic at Duke Law, Durham’s Department of Social Services, and the courts. The program receives critical financial support from the City of Durham, the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin and the North Carolina Bar Foundation. To learn more about the program, read this article from Legal Aid’s 2017 Annual Report.

Register

Who: Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law

What: Free public lecture about government involvement in residential housing segregation in America

When: Thursday, March 18, 12-1 p.m.

Where: Zoom

Register: Click here to register on Zoom

Donate: To support the new Durham Rental Assistance Fund:

  • Click here
  • Select “Durham Rental Assistance Fund (Rothstein event)” from the “Donation Designation” drop-down menu
  • Donate $250 or more and get a free copy of The Color of Law by mail

Topic: Housing

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RALEIGH—Are you struggling to make your mortgage payments because of financial hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic?

If so, you may qualify for “mortgage forbearance,” which means you may not have to make mortgage payments for a period of time—but you need to act fast. December 31 may be the last day to qualify.

You can qualify for mortgage forbearance even if you were behind on your mortgage payments before the COVID-19 pandemic, and even if your financial hardship is only indirectly related to the pandemic.

Getting mortgage forbearance is easy. Just contact your mortgage servicer—the company that you make mortgage payments to—and tell them that you are experiencing financial hardship related to the COVID pandemic, and that you want to get a forbearance on mortgage payments. You will also need to tell them how long you want the forbearance to last.

If you qualify, you can receive mortgage forbearance for an initial period of up to 180 days, plus an additional 180 days if you continue to experience financial hardship.

If you need help requesting a forbearance from your mortgage servicer, or your mortgage servicer tells you that you are not eligible for a forbearance, we may be able to help. Call our toll-free helpline at 1-866-219-5262.

COVID-related mortgage forbearance is available to struggling homeowners because of the CARES Act, a federal law enacted soon after the start of the pandemic.

Topic: Housing

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RALEIGH—Douglas Matthew Gurkins, 34, a Greenville resident, has been sentenced to 28 months in federal prison for using racial slurs against and threatening the lives of a Black American family, consisting of a mother and her four children—a criminal violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. At the sentencing hearing, other Black American tenants who had been victimized by Mr. Gurkins in the same manner shared their stories with the court.

The sentencing is the latest development in a years-long and still ongoing legal effort launched by Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Fair Housing Project against Mr. Gurkins and others on behalf of another Black American couple.

The U.S. Department of Justice, which prosecuted the case, announced the sentencing in a press release on November 23, 2020.

In August 2019, Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project and the law firm of Brancart & Brancart filed a federal civil lawsuit against Mr. Gurkins; the owner of the property, who is also Mr. Gurkins’ aunt; the company hired to manage the property; and one of the management company’s employees.

In 2017, Legal Aid’s clients began renting one half of a duplex in Greenville owned by Mr. Gurkins’ aunt. Mr. Gurkins lived in the other half.

The complaint alleges that soon after the couple moved in, Mr. Gurkins launched a campaign of racial harassment against them, repeatedly addressing them by using the “N-word”—sometimes in front of their minor grandchildren—and threatening them with physical violence.

The couple allege they pleaded with Gurkins’ aunt and the property manager to do something about him, but no one intervened or even investigated their complaints. Instead, according to the suit, the defendants attempted to evict the couple from the property.

In the lawsuit, it is alleged that Mr. Gurkins’ racist behavior and the failure of the others to do anything about it violated the federal Fair Housing Act. The defendants have all denied the allegations. The case is scheduled to go to trial in 2021.

“We are proud that justice is being served in this case on the criminal side,” said Kelly Clarke, supervising attorney of our Fair Housing Project.

“No one should have to live in fear because of the color of their skin. The Fair Housing Act entitles all Americans to enjoy their home free of racial harassment. Our clients look forward to having their day in civil court,” said Ayanda Meachem, a supervising attorney of Legal Aid of North Carolina.

Luis Pinto, staff attorney of Legal Aid of North Carolina, also works on this case and is counsel of record; both Meachem and Pinto work in Legal Aid’s Ahoskie office. Legal Aid of North Carolina co-counsels this case with Christopher Brancart of California-based law firm Brancart & Brancart.

Individuals may obtain information about fair housing by contacting the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina at (855) 797-3247.

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Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. To learn more, visit www.legalaidnc.org and www.fairhousingnc.org.

The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported in part by funding under a grant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the federal Government.

Media Contact

Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, 919-856-2132, SeanD@legalaidnc.org