Evictions in Smith County resumed recently after the eviction moratorium was allowed to expire.

As a result of the Texas Supreme Court not extending its own emergency order, evictions were allowed to resume across the state.

The Texas Eviction Diversion Program was created as an alternative to evictions only when both the tenants and landlords agree to participate, offering up to 15 months of rental and utility assistance.

If an application is approved, the tenant can continue living there and the landlord will receive payments and the eviction case is dismissed. It also allowed a judge to postpone eviction for 60 days if an application for the program is processing.

Smith County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Andy Dunklin began conducting eviction hearings between local landlords and tenants in April. He said the program is the only thing available to those facing eviction, other than assistance from the nonprofit PATH, also known as People Attempting to Help, which he said temporarily halted applications for rental assistance last month.

“That’s solely based on the landlord participating. If the landlord doesn’t want to participate, they don’t have to,” Dunklin said.

He added some landlords may have been avoiding sending additional paperwork such as tax papers.

With the Northeast Texas Public Health District reporting rises in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Dunklin said an increase in evictions is possible as more people are financially impacted by the virus.

“I don’t know how that’s going to affect evictions, but it’s certainly possible that that could have an effect,” he said.

Although U.S. President Joe Biden continued efforts to extend the moratorium across the country until Oct. 3, the United States Supreme Court recently overturned the ban on evictions and said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had overstepped its authority by issuing it.

The summary judgment means landlords can begin evictions right away in states or cities that have no moratorium, including Texas.

The current federal moratorium on evictions expires Oct. 3 and, with under a month to go, only 11% of the rental aid allocated by Congress has made it out the door. Last year, the federal government allocated $46.5 billion to help people who could not pay their rent.

In Smith County, $7 million from the United States Treasury Emergency Rental Assistance Program was approved to be distributed by PATH in March to provide rental assistance.

The county needed to spend 65% of the funds given by September, a goal Andrea Wilson, executive director for PATH, said was reached.

“We have met the marker to be able to continue spending until the funding runs out, which we anticipate being in December,” Wilson said.

Funds that are not spent by December will be drawn back by the federal government.

Wilson said although evictions resumed earlier this year, justices of the peace have worked closely with families PATH is assisting.

“I’ve been to a number of eviction hearings and the JPs will ask the landlord or tenant (if they’re working with PATH). If they are working with us then there’s some leeway given. But if they’re not for one reason or another, sometimes people are evicted,” she said.

Wilson said COVID-19 is affecting the number of people reaching out to PATH needing help because the pandemic is affecting their income. Before the pandemic, the nonprofit was helping an average of 15 to 20 families per month.

“We haven’t seen normal in quite some time,” Wilson said.

These days, PATH is seeing an average of 60 people applying for rental assistance online every day.

“We’re not talking about people’s income being affected back from 2020. I’m talking about families that are being affected right now,” she said.

Wilson said since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, 1,100 families have received rental assistance through PATH.

Eviction leading to homelessness

Effective since Sept. 1, House Bill 1925 prohibits those experiencing homelessness from camping, or residing temporarily in a place with shelter (a tent, tarpaulin, sleeping bag, bedrolls or any devices designed to protect them from weather conditions). The person found in violation of the law would be charged with a Class C misdemeanor.

Months ahead of the new law, local nonprofit organizations met with the Tyler Police Department to determine what could be done for homeless people.

Sheryl Driggers, executive director of the Tyler ministries, works with Hiway 80 Rescue Mission’s Gateway To Hope day center and the Triumph Village recovery center. She said The Salvation Army, Hiway 80 Rescue Mission and the Tyler Street Team began efforts to assess each individual and see who was eligible to go into certain assistance programs or housing.

“Partnering through the Tyler Street Team, several were able to find permanent housing,” Driggers said.

As a result, they found many people just wanted to go home, such as to Florida or West Texas. The nonprofits were able to get bus tickets to get them home.

Still, Driggers said they’re still seeing an increase in those still coming into the shelter.

“We have had an increase in the number of people that have come to Hiway 80’s rescue shelter. We’ve had an increase of people from all over East Texas, including Tyler, that have come to those shelters (in Longview), since they weren’t allowed to camp any longer,” she said, adding there are still camps around, only on private property.

She said any impact in the reduction of homelessness in Tyler will not be a result of HB 1925, but a result of local nonprofits coming together to find other resolutions for those in need. She said the pandemic has had a critical effect on families, especially those struggling financially because of COVID-19.

“I think it could definitely happen to anyone, especially with these trying times,” Driggers said.

Christina Talliaferro, founder and CEO of the East Texas Human Needs Network, has gathered data for the Point-in-Time demographics since 2007, when Tyler had 244 people experiencing homelessness.

Talliaferro recommends looking at 2020 data instead of 2021 data.

“The guidelines for conducting the assessment, the way that we come up with a number is, we literally have volunteers and staff members that go to what is known as ‘known locations.’ They interview people experiencing homelessness, and they count people who may not want to be interviewed,” she said.

Because of the pandemic, the study was not able to be done the same way it’s been done in past years.

“We think it’s a gross undercount of what homelessness was like,” Talliaferro said.

In 2020, 325 were experiencing homelessness. Of those, 245 were adults and 80 were children. Overall, homelessness has increased by 33% and in children, by 135%.

“COVID seems to have exacerbated everything, including mental illness, including substance abuse. COVID just made everything worse than it already was,” she said regarding homelessness in Tyler.

She said homelessness is increasing across the nation for many reasons. One of the biggest causes is the lack of affordable housing and the lack of mental health care in Texas.

Talliaferro said with an increase in evictions, there will be an increase in homelessness. She emphasized the need for affordable housing and supportive housing in the community.

“It’s not helping the situation,” she said, adding it’s easy to understand why the eviction moratorium was lifted. “It’s understandable that for some landlords, this had to happen. Otherwise, they would lose everything. Sadly, it also means people will lose their homes.”