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IU McKinney’s Health and Human Rights Clinic has received a grant from the Herbert Simon Family Foundation to support its work on behalf of tenants facing eviction. The law school will work with Indiana Legal Services (ILS) to provide representation to tenants facing eviction in township courts in Marion County.

IU McKinney students will work alongside ILS attorneys who advise and represent tenants in eviction court. The students will undergo a training session and must commit to a minimum number of sessions in court during summer 2022. The generous grant from the Herbert Simon Family Foundation will support the student’s work over two years.

“It is exciting the Herbert Simon Family Foundation has decided student advocacy for housing stability is a priority for our community,” said Professor Fran Quigley, ’87, who teaches in the Health and Human Rights Clinic. “This program will be building on ILS’s great work in tenant advocacy and our Health and Human Rights Clinic’s ongoing role in that tenant advocacy effort.”

The grant and the students’ assistance will allow ILS to expand the work the organization is currently doing in eviction courts throughout Marion County. Clients currently do an intake to determine their eligibility and then are introduced to an ILS lawyer who must first gather details and case history before determining how to serve the client, said ILS Pro Bono Project Director Jeff Heck. That is time-consuming work the students will be capable of undertaking, allowing the attorneys to represent more clients. “I believe this will be a great opportunity for students to gain experience in client interviewing and develop skills in real-world issue spotting,” Heck said, “and provide them the chance to work with experienced attorneys. I hope it also gives students a taste for pro bono work that will carry over into their professional lives.”

Most tenants facing eviction arrive in court with no lawyer and many don’t realize assistance is available. “Through the generosity of the Herbert Simon Family Foundation, this grant will help address an urgent and critical unmet legal need in Marion County by providing low-income tenants access to meaningful legal assistance in eviction court,” said Jamie Devine, ’12, an attorney at Kids’ Voice of Indiana who teaches as an adjunct professor in the Health and Human Rights Clinic. “In addition, it will provide students with the opportunity to put into practice what they have learned in law school, under the supervision of experienced attorneys from Indiana Legal Services. Working with clients in a courtroom setting is an invaluable experience for students as they prepare for legal careers.”

Herbert Simon Family Foundation is a private non-operating foundation. Established in 1999, the foundation has been providing support for organizations in hopes of creating more equitable, sustainable and vibrant communities with an emphasis on Central Indiana. In 2011, Herbert Simon Family Foundation expanded its board to include the second generation of the family and engaged CICF’s philanthropic services, including strategic charitable advising and grant-making counsel. The foundation grants to organizations in Central Indiana in the areas of: Arts & Culture, Basic Needs, Environment, and Social Justice.