That the City Manager is requested to confer with the Department of Human Services to allocate additional supplemental funds in the FY19 Budget and a line item allocated in the FY20 Budget for legal aid contracts so that more legal assistance is available to residents facing displacement and other housing-related emergencies

City of Cambridge O-10 ORIGINAL ORDER IN CITY COUNCIL June 18, 2018 COUNCILLOR SIDDIQUI COUNCILLOR SIMMONS COUNCILLOR CARLONE MAYOR MCGOVERN WHEREAS: Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services (CASLS) has provided free legal assistance to low-income families and individuals residing in Cambridge for over 40 years; and WHEREAS: Through a contract with the City of Cambridge and Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, CASLS provides legal services at the Cambridge Multi-Service Center as part of their housing advocacy and homelessness prevention services, advocating on behalf of more than one hundred residents per year; and WHEREAS: Legal aid services are a necessary component of our housing plan and attorneys help people stay in their homes by drafting and explaining legal documents, negotiating with landlords and management companies, representing individuals in eviction proceedings, and alerting residents to essential deadlines; and WHEREAS: CASLS serves six cities and towns and has only three attorneys and an Americorps service attorney/paralegal, none of whom are exclusively dedicated to housing law; as a result, CASLS cannot always meet the immediate needs of constituents in Cambridge facing eviction or another housing emergency; now therefore be it ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to confer with the Department of Human Services to allocate additional funds in the FY20 Budget for legal aid contracts so that more legal assistance is available to residents facing displacement and other housing-related emergencies; and be it further ORDERED: That the City Manager and the Department of Human Services report back on progress regarding this increase by September 2018.