The Gilbert Family Foundation has announced the launch of the Detroit Eviction Defense Fund (DEDF), which will invest $12 million over three years into three organizations that will provide legal representation to low-income Detroit families facing eviction proceedings. 

DEDF is expected to benefit nearly 6,000 families per year and will provide up to an additional $1 million in support of a long-term study into the efficacy of the program as well as the eviction defense ecosystem in Detroit. To that end, the fund will help the United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC), Michigan Legal Services, and Lakeshore Legal Aid level the playing field by supporting full legal access for all families with a child in the home who make 50 percent of the area median income (AMI) or less. In Detroit, the level of AMI for a family of two is $35,800, $40,300 for a family of three, and $44,750 for a family of four. 

“The Detroit Eviction Defense Fund will allow us to continue the critical work of defending Detroiters and their families from landlords who too often try to take advantage of them,” said Lakeshore Legal Aid CEO Ashley Lowe. “Without interventions like these, less than 5 percent of renters are represented by an attorney during eviction proceeding. We are grateful to the Gilbert Family Foundation for helping us level the playing field and restore justice to a predominately unjust system.” 

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Bill Oxford)