Greater Indianapolis Multi-Faith Alliance Inc

Very few college students get real-world experience in advocacy, even less in the area of housing. With Indiana University Indianapolis, we are creating an intern program to connect interested students with a variety of housing-related organizations including legislative advocacy, community development, homeless outreach, civic and city service programs.

Eviction Court Watching: Hoosier families who rent their homes are at a huge disadvantage when they go to a court where the landlord has a lawyer and they dont, and the judge often seems more interested in moving cases along than making sure their rights are protected. Tenants immediately have a much better chance of being treated fairly with a court watcher. Time is crucial. If a judge delays eviction even by two weeks, evictees have time to seek financial assistance, get legal help, or at least find somewhere to live. Additionally, court watchers collect data about what actually happens in eviction court. Answers to questions: Was the tenant represented by council? Was the landlord present? Were the proceedings explained to the tenants? How long did the case last? Were there habitability issues and were they considered in the judges ruling? Were there children in the household? Indpls is one of few cities in the country that has actual data on court proceedings.

Affordable Housing: In collaboration with Indiana University, Indiana Cooperative Development Center (ICDC), and Bloomington Cooperative Living, GIMA co-hosted a Grassroots Community Housing Summit in March of this year. Wed hoped for 30 participants, we had over 100. This all day summit was designed move would-be developers from learning about housing to connecting them with finance, banking, governance, policy, and construction to move from plans to action. Our goal is to create an ongoing resource for community-led groups to move past planning and into action. The Housing Summit was the starting point. A series of webinars, gatherings, and ongoing access to the resources these communities need to start creating affordable housing in Indiana will follow.