San Francisco Attorney Magazine

Fall 2022

CROC and JDC Attorneys Partner to Advocate for Client

 

 

 



Filing a restraining order against a loved one is a complicated decision. Many survivors fear that filing an ‘official’ action in court could make things more dangerous for them.”

Emberly Cross, Coordinating Attorney at Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic 

Jennifer* reached out to the Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic (CROC) for consultation to obtain a restraining order against her former boyfriend, David*. 

Misfortunes never come singly. While Jennifer was deciding on next steps, she received a bill for over $500 from her former landlord for unpaid rent and related charges. 

However, Jennifer had already paid her share of those charges whereas David had not. The landlord notified Jennifer that if they did not pay the remaining balance within a few days, they would pursue the matter in court. 

Because of the advocacy CROC had previously been doing for her, Jennifer brought up the housing issue to staff. Although housing disputes fall outside of CROC’s scope, staff investigated the situation and quickly connected Jennifer with a Supervising Attorney at Justice & Diversity Center (JDC)’s Tenant Advocacy Project (TAP)

The TAP attorney wrote to the former landlord explaining the situation and advocated for the client. And although the landlord did not respond directly to TAP, Jennifer noticed that the matter had cleared after a week. 

Because problems don’t occur in a silo, CROC and JDC continue to collaborate, advocating for their client's holistic needs, ultimately providing comprehensive services for life-threatening situations.    

If you have been experiencing sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking survivors, CROC works to protect the rights and safety of survivors and their children through effective legal assistance, institutional training, and policy advocacy. For more info, please visit https://www.roclinic.org/ or contact (415) 969-6711.  

If you have concerns about rent disputes, housing conditions/repairs, disability accommodations, subsidy terminations, disputes with landlords or property managers, and other issues, TAP can help. TAP can also help tenants seek and obtain rental assistance for back rent and moving expenses (first and last month’s rent and security deposits). Contact TAP at tap@sfbar.org or call (415) 989-1616.

*pseudonym used for safety