As the executive director of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, Michael Lucus is helping those who are facing eviction and need legal representation. Lucus was present in Atlanta on March 28 as the Rocket Community Fund announced a combined $550,000 in new funding to protect Atlanta homeowners and renters from displacement.
Lucus spoke with rolling out about the AVLF, his day-to-day responsibilities and what the housing development means for the city.
What does this investment mean for Atlanta?
We’re excited about the investment, but we also know evictions — and the deplorable conditions that tenants have to face are a real issue. The mayor, the city council and Rocket Community Fund all care about this issue. They’re all making investments in it, and we’re just happy to be one of the partners. We provide legal representation to tenants, legal representation if they’re facing an eviction and legal representation if they’re fighting deplorable conditions in their homes. These are all the things that Atlanta families are dealing with, and now we have more resources to bring to solve those issues.
What is your role, and what is your day-to-day like?
I’m the executive director of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation. We have a staff of 60 people working in the Atlanta community throughout neighborhoods that are facing eviction. We work in two areas. We help tenants with their issues, and we help survivors of intimate partner abuse [regarding] the legal protection and the help from our social workers as they fight for safety and independence.
What is the message that you would give tenants who are dealing with housing issues?
One, help is there. We understand it can be hard to get that help; it can be hard to know where to go; and it can be hard to know if there is even legal help out there for you. The city has a housing help center, and there’s information online about how to find them. They can help with a range of issues, homeowners and tenants. When that issue is something about legal rights for tenants, the housing help center reaches out to us, and we let people know if they face an eviction they’ve got to come to the Fulton County courthouse to answer that eviction. We are right there in the courthouse — just ask for the housing court assistance center — and we can give free legal advice. If there’s something more we can do in getting full legal representation, we do that, too. There are resources there, and we’re trying to put them in the courthouse and in the community where people need them.
Where can people find you?
You can find us online at www.avlf.org. You can find us by calling our offices at 404-521-0790. We are in the courthouse at the housing court assistance center for tenants and at the Safe Families Office for survivors.
