{"668582":{"#nid":"668582","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Students Create Web App That Empowers Tenants Facing Eviction to Fight Back","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETenants facing eviction in Atlanta may soon have a new app that can help them to understand their rights through the eviction process.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe web-based app is being developed by a group of Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mshci.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EMaster of Science in Human-Computer Interaction\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(MS-HCI) students. It can inform tenants of their rights, help them to ensure landlords have properly followed the law and help them to better prepare for their court hearings.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe students have been developing the web app for the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avlf.org\/\u0022\u003EAtlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(AVLF), which provides free legal services to residents in Fulton County, including advice for tenants facing evictions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EJessie Chiu, one of the students who worked on the app before graduating in May, said the eviction problem throughout Atlanta is expansive.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn an\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.wabe.org\/fulton-countys-3-p-m-eviction-hearing\/\u0022\u003Earticle\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;published by WABE, a local NPR affiliate, Fulton County Chief Magistrate Judge Cassandra Kirk said her office receives 40,000 eviction filings per year or about 800 per week.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAtlanta has one of the highest eviction rates in America, Fulton County especially,\u201d Chiu said. \u201cIt disproportionately affects people of marginalized communities. There\u2019s a huge power imbalance between landlords and tenants, and landlords will employ attorneys who specifically work on evicting tenants, while tenants have limited legal resources and knowledge.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe AVLF operates the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avlf.org\/get-help\/evictions\/\u0022\u003EHousing Court Assistance Center\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(HCAC), a walk-in advice clinic where volunteer attorneys and paralegals provide free legal advice to tenants facing eviction. The clinic is located at the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.magistratefulton.org\/\u0022\u003EFulton County Magistrate Court\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;in downtown Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWorking inside the Culture and Technology (CAT) Lab directed by Associate Professor Betsy DiSalvo, Chiu and fellow student Xiao Luo led the group\u2019s research efforts this year just before graduating.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo gain firsthand insights into the legal process, they spent three months interviewing tenants and observing counseling sessions with volunteer HCAC attorneys. This helped them understand what tenants needed from the web app while ensuring the advice provided would be consistent with advice given by attorneys.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s important to get in front of our end users,\u201d Chiu said. \u201cOnce we got to sit in on these sessions with tenants undergoing eviction, we gained valuable insights into the complexity of the process. We decided to expand the available resources, covering each stage of the defense process so it became a comprehensive, step-by-step guide.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERecognizing the limitations of the HCAC to address a city-wide problem, Luo voiced the need for a digital solution.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere\u2019s limited access to the attorneys,\u201d Luo said. \u201cAt the clinic, there\u2019s always a long queue of people there. This could provide users with immediate access to resources whenever they need them.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the most challenging procedures in the eviction process is the seven-day response time given to tenants. Anyone served with an eviction notice must file an answer within that timeframe. Luo said the paperwork is long and complicated and can easily trip up tenants with limited legal knowledge.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFailure to submit the answer within seven days condemns tenants to a default judgment hearing, where judges often rule in favor of landlords.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECurrently, the web app provides users with reminders to file their answers and check the court website for any scheduled hearings. Looking to the future, Luo said the goal is to incorporate real-time updates and notifications. The group will need the cooperation of the court system to do so.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ELuo said her team is dedicated to optimizing the web app\u2019s functionality and simplifying the process, making it more efficient and less time-consuming for users.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe hope to develop a more flexible solution where users won\u2019t feel tied to a step-by-step process,\u201d Luo said. \u201cInstead, they can follow some simple prompts, describe their situations, and it will provide them with the solutions and advice they need.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EChiu said she hopes the project is the first step toward revolutionizing the eviction defense landscape.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of work to do, but it\u2019s exciting to see how tech can be used for leveling the playing field and giving people equal access to information and the tools they need to fight for their rights,\u201d Chiu said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA group of graduate students in the School of Interactive Computing are developing a web-based app for the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avlf.org\/\u0022\u003EAtlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E, which provides free legal services to residents in Fulton County, including advice for tenants facing evictions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Human-computer interaction students have developed a new tool to inform tenants of their rights, help them to ensure landlords have properly followed the law, and help them to better prepare for their court hearings."}],"uid":"32045","created_gmt":"2023-07-25 19:14:34","changed_gmt":"2023-07-25 19:21:49","author":"Ben Snedeker","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-07-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-07-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"671216":{"id":"671216","type":"image","title":"tenantevictionapp_0.jpeg","body":null,"created":"1690312487","gmt_created":"2023-07-25 19:14:47","changed":"1690312487","gmt_changed":"2023-07-25 19:14:47","alt":"Georgia Tech students Jessie Chiu and Xiao Luo","file":{"fid":"254234","name":"tenantevictionapp_0.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/07\/25\/tenantevictionapp_0.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/07\/25\/tenantevictionapp_0.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":59025,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/07\/25\/tenantevictionapp_0.jpeg?itok=imuwq6uO"}}},"media_ids":["671216"],"groups":[{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10199","name":"Daily Digest"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENathan Deen, Communications Officer\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Interactive Computing\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Enathan.deen@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}