DAYTON, Ohio — It’s no secret: all across the country, people are struggling to make ends meet.

For many, the fear of losing their home because of eviction is a very real possibility.

One pilot program in Ohio is focusing on a specific population to make sure help is being secured by the people who need it most.

“I love it, I love the space and, yeah, I see myself here for another year who knows,” Alice Wood said.

Wood and her four children have been renting a home in Dayton for about a year.

“It’s definitely a home for the kids," she said. "The kids are enjoying it."

However, finding a place to call home wasn’t easy.

“Went ahead and scheduled for inspection. They didn’t pass from the outside. The inspector would not enter, and that was the home in Five Oaks,” she said, while explaining the issues with her previous address.

Wood said, despite an agreement at that address, full repairs never happened.

She went into rent escrow.

Ohio law allows a tenant to pay rent to the court to force a landlord to make repairs.

She said soon after came the eviction notice.

“The reason that they put the notice on my door, that’s not the reason they put on file," Wood said. "They had actually put that I had a non-payment, hadn’t paid, even though I was paying my escrow to the court."

Her plight caught the attention of the Dayton Tenant Union and law firm Advocates for Basic Legal Equality or ABLE.  

“I like to say I couldn’t have done it without her," Wood said. "Going into court as a tenant with no representation, no legal background, it was tough."

Her experience with eviction isn’t unique.

The city of Dayton has been working on the issues since before the pandemic.

Erica Fields with Learn to Earn Dayton and Debra Lavey with ABLE have been teaming up to bring the Eviction Prevention Pilot Program to the community.

Starting in November, for one year, free legal aid and wrap-around services will help 125 families in northwest Dayton.  

“It’s important to note that race is a huge piece in this,” Lavey said.

They say more than 3,000 evictions were filed in Dayton in 2023, and 48% happened in zip codes 45405 and 45406. 

“What we’re finding is that families who are being evicted find it very difficult to get rehoused, especially if an eviction is staying on their record," Fields said. "They’re seeing all sorts of discriminatory action with not being able to be rehoused and predominantly across the country. It’s affecting women of color and with children."

About 83% of landlords are represented by an attorney, while only 4% of tenants were able to secure legal aid.

Lavey said an eviction can have lasting consequences. 

“Children talking about seeing their belongings out on the street, having to live with relatives, some living in their car, some having to go to shelter and get picked up at the shelter. So it’s a very traumatic experience,” Lavey said.

For now, Wood and her family are enjoying the house they’ve made a home.

It’s helped to create new possibilities.  

“We’re going to do laser tag. I’m so excited," Wood said. "In the past, my situation during holiday time is very tight when it comes to funds and I haven’t always been able to give him the birthday parties that he should have had. So this is a big one for us and it’s all because of ABLE. Just overall transformed my life. So I’m doing it big for my baby’s 10th."

Once this pilot program is finished, directors hope to expand the efforts to other parts of the region.