Date: September 8, 2022
In the coming weeks and months, hundreds of lower-income families in the City of Alexandria are facing imminent eviction from their homes. At the height of the COVID pandemic, when many people could not work, lower-income families relied on rental assistance from the State to help pay their rent. However, the State rental assistance program stopped accepting applications on May 15th. Many families were not able to apply before the deadline, and others have accumulated additional amounts since May 15th.
Simultaneously, recent changes in Virginia law have sped up the eviction process. Although a tenant may not be evicted without a court order, tenants typically end up in court within a matter of weeks of missing a rental payment. Allison Vincent-Beckman and Allen Capute have gone to court for several weeks as volunteers representing a group of local churches who have come together to help those facing eviction cases in court. They collect information from these families needed by the churches to determine if and how they might help, in addition to providing emotional support and other helpful information.
With the rapid increase in case filings, more volunteers are needed. If you are interested in volunteering to assist the churches in their efforts, please email Allan at acapute@vts.edu. Fluency in Spanish is especially helpful, but any help is most certainly welcome. Please note that the eviction dockets in Alexandria take place on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons from 1:00 – 3:30 pm. No prior experience is necessary, and no dedicated or set commitment level is required.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President