Data from STOUT—a global advisory firm—show 42 percent of Indiana renters are struggling to pay and at risk of eviction.
Even with assistance programs, many folks are having a hard time connecting to resources.
"In Indiana, eviction has become a very transactional experience," Brandon Beeler, an attorney and the director of the Housing Law Center at Indiana Legal Services says. According to Beeler, generally Indiana evictions often forget "the due process rights tenants have in their rental homes."
That's why he and his colleagues started working specifically with veteran’s groups before the coronavirus pandemic to help represent former servicemen and women struggling to pay rent. The pandemic has made the work even more relevant.
"In conjunction with the VA [U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs], the state veteran’s administration, and all of those organizations that can really reach veterans they really saw a need that someone needs to come in and just help protect veterans," he says.
According to Beeler, additional services are available to veterans, however many are not widely known. He says Indiana Legal Service's new program seeks to work with the VA and other groups to reach veterans where they are.
Overall, more than 24,000 Hoosiers have already applied for COVID-19 rental assistance through a $25 million state program. The Holcomb administration announced Wednesday it will add $15 million more to that program and will extend it past August 14th.
