DETROIT, MI – A growing body of research continues to confirm what housing advocates have long asserted: eviction is not only a housing emergency but a public health crisis with community-wide consequences, particularly for Black mothers and children.

New studies are revealing that eviction’s impact extends far beyond the loss of shelter, touching on maternal health, child development, and the structural inequities woven into American housing policy. In Detroit, where gentrification, rising rents and illegal evictions have become increasingly common, social epidemiologist Shawnita Sealy-Jefferson of The Ohio State University is leading a team of researchers working to quantify the community-wide effects of housing instability.

Their research initiative, SECURE (Social Epidemiology to Combat Unjust Residential Evictions), found that Black mothers living in Metro Detroit neighborhoods with higher eviction filing rates face a 68% higher risk of premature birth — one of the leading causes of infant mortality in the United States.

What’s more alarming, according to Sealy-Jefferson, is that the pregnant person does not need to be the one experiencing the eviction. The stress from witnessing a neighbor’s displacement or living under the constant threat of eviction in a high-turnover neighborhood can be enough to trigger serious physiological symptoms that increase the risk of preterm birth.

Summer is a time when many children may not have access to the free and reduced-price meals they get during the school year, and households might need a little extra help putting meals on the table.

SUN Bucks, Pennsylvania’s Summer EBT program, is a new grocery benefits program that provides households with a one-time payment of $120 for each eligible child to buy food while school is out. Benefits can be used at local participating retailers to purchase groceries.

Many children will get these benefits automatically, but some households will need to apply. The benefits will be added to an existing SNAP/TANF EBT card or a newly issued Summer EBT card.

Note: Benefits for Summer of 2025 will begin being issued to all eligible children in mid-August.

Florida Bar News - Legal aid creates positive client experiences with lawyers and provides a level of understanding of the legal system that builds trust

John Adams’ influence on the judiciary and the role of the law and lawyers is still felt today. His belief that defendants deserved equal counsel under the law directly influenced the Sixth Amendment, and today’s concept of legal aid is a direct result of his thinking.

Adams was deeply committed to equal representation before the law and was willing to place his reputation on the line for his principles. After the Boston Massacre, he defended the British soldiers accused of murdering five American colonists. On that matter, he later wrote, “Council ought to be the very last thing that an accused Person should want in a free Country,” and “every Lawyer must hold himself responsible not only to his Country, but to the highest and most infallible of all Tribunals.” In other words, lawyers must be committed to make the legal system work as intended.

Adams believed fairness for the litigant, regardless of their background, was fundamental to maintaining justice in society. For defendants facing legal proceedings for the first time, being represented by qualified counsel raises the comfort level for all parties and builds trust in the legal process. When litigants are informed about how court proceedings unfold, the possibility of a fair and just outcome increases. As attorneys, recognizing this fundamental tenet is an essential step in solving our profession’s most serious challenges.