José Muñoz, Greater Boston Legal Services
José, a hotel housekeeper from Charlestown, had always worked hard to support his family. But when his work hours were cut and his health started to fail, he began to fall behind on his rent. Soon José, his wife and their two young children were facing eviction and a frightening future.
Like so many other Americans, José and his family were victims of the recession. First his wife lost her housekeeping job, then, with the number of hotel guests lagging, José’s hours were cut from full time to a fluctuating schedule, sometimes as low as 20 hours per week.
At the same time, José was battling a painful knee problem. With the reduced work schedule and increased medical costs, he found that he couldn’t keep up with the rent at the family’s public housing apartment. He tried repeatedly to get the housing authority to adjust the rent to reflect his reduced income, but they told him he would not be reevaluated until the end of the year. José knew that if the family was evicted they would probably lose their public housing subsidy permanently. The next step was homelessness. "We didn’t know where to turn," he says.
The eviction notice arrived, saying that José owed $7,000. With no hope of paying that amount, he called Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS). GBLS housing attorney Alex Munevar took the case and began to look into the housing authority’s claim.
Alex discovered that José’s rent had been wrongly set too high – José actually qualified for an "earned income adjustment" that the housing authority had failed to consider. Instead of owing $7,000, José had actually overpaid his rent by $1,400! When Alex pointed out the error to the housing authority, they lowered José’s rent, repaid the $1,400 and dropped the eviction. José and his family had their home back.
Speaking through an interpreter, José describes how he felt that day. "Try to imagine someone who is at the edge," he says. "Everything is against you. Then GBLS saved our housing. It seemed like some sort of magic.
"I didn’t think there was any hope, and my GBLS attorney was able to keep my family in our home."
 Massachusetts Corporation |