Introduction
Students enrolled in the Housing Law Clinic have the option to participate in the Housing Justice for Survivors Program where they will represent survivors of gender-based violence in a range of housing matters. Students will receive training in the state and federal legal protections available to survivors, as well as the skills necessary to represent clients using a client-centered, trauma-informed approach.
As this Clinic is part of the Legal Services Center (LSC), you are also encouraged to visit LSC’s Clinical Student FAQs page. There you will find helpful information about all manner of topics relevant to students, including the travel subsidy LSC provides to students and the shuttle van LSC operates for students.
About
Gender-based violence is a leading cause of homelessness for families and individual survivors. The impact of eviction and homelessness is devastating for a family that has already been harmed by family abuse. Legal interventions that keep survivors in their homes can mitigate the the compounding negative consequences of homelessness and allow them to focus on moving towards healing and self-determination.
The Housing Justice for Survivors project trains clinical law students to represent tenants who are facing housing instability due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. We represent survivors in evictions and housing authority hearings, develop affirmative impact litigation in federal and state court, train domestic violence and sexual assault advocates about tenant rights, undertake amicus brief writing projects, and lead local, state, and federal law reform efforts aimed at improving the housing rights of survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Students receive specialized training in the legal protections available to survivors fighting to stay housed, as well as the skills necessary to represent survivors using a client-centered and trauma-informed approach. Students represent individual survivors in their housing cases and have the opportunity to work on policy and law reform projects.
Contact Information
For information about the Housing Justice for Survivors Project, please contact Julia Devanthéry by email at [email protected].
Case Examples
Boston Housing Authority vs. YA, 482 Mass. 240 (2019)
- The clinic successfully litigated Boston Housing Authority vs. YA, 482 Mass. 240 (2019), the leading case in Massachusetts on eviction protections for survivors living in public housing.
- Read more about the case here: https://bostonbar.org/journal/boston-housing-authority-v-y-a-482-mass-240-2019-sjc-clarifies-vawa-defenses-in-eviction-cases-2/.
Student Voices
Seeking the right fix with the Housing Law Clinic [Housing Justice for Survivors Project] – By Tashrima Hossain ’25
Endeavoring to make “rights real” for clients in the Housing Justice for Survivors Project – By Melissa Morgan ’24
Housing Clinic Students Step Up in Solidarity with Tenants and Survivors of Abuse – By Annalise Wagner ’23
Team Overview
Julia Devanthéry – Director, Housing Justice for Survivors Project Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor of Law; Director, Clinical Pedagogy and Curricular Innovation for Legal Services Center