Data Dialogue

Data Dialogue

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Speaker(s): Peter Gilbert (NC Legal Aid)
Evictions in Durham: Measuring the scale of the problem and results of interventions Dr. Matthew Desmond's , 2016 book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City spotlighted an eviction crisis in the United States. That year, one in every six Durham rental households was sued in a legal court eviction. Local governments across the country began to invest in various programs designed to address the crisis. In 2017, Legal Aid of North Carolina and the Duke Civil Justice Clinic in partnership with the Durham County Department of Social Services launched the Durham Eviction Diversion Program, funded by the City of Durham since 2018. Court filed eviction rates appear to have declined steadily since 2011, but how much if any can be attributed to these interventions? How do multiple definitions of "eviction," multiple data sources, and inherently subjective categorizations allow different stake holders to cast the data in different lights? Funders and policy makers tend to want "data" to drive (justify?) their choices; is that inherently more rational or persuasive than a "story-telling" approach? To register for this talk, please click here: https://duke.zoom.us/j/95686573867

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