Speaker: Taylor Campion, Senior Managing Attorney
What is the critical impact that you are confident that FVAP delivers?
Taylor Campion: One critical impact FVAP has on survivors is we help survivors assert their rights with our written material program. FVAP's housing program has dozens of information sheets and template letters. Information sheets educate survivors and their advocates on survivors housing rights and template letters allow survivors to assert their legal right. For example, we have an information sheet about the survivors eviction defense and template letters survivors can give their landlord demanding the landlord stop trying to evict them because they experienced abuse. I have heard from advocates across California about how they have used our template letters to help their clients successfully get housed, stay housed, and break a lease early when they need to leave because of abuse. FVAP's written material program has a critical impact on survivors by educating survivors and their advocates and empowers empowering survivors to assert their legal rights.
What makes you hopeful and happy?
Taylor Campion: One thing that makes me hopeful and happy is the number of positive changes to housing laws for survivors that have occurred since FVAP's housing program began in 2017. Before I was at FVAP I was a direct services housing attorney. And when I started as a housing attorney, tenant protections for survivors of gender-based violence were lacking. For example, at the time, the survivor's eviction defense was characterized to me by a senior attorney as useless because it didn't contemplate the realities of survivors lives. Fast forward 10 years as a result of a bill co-sponsored by FVAP, California has one of the strongest eviction defenses for survivors in the nation. California also has stronger early lease termination laws and starting in 2025 as a result of another FVAP co-sponsored bill, more survivors will be able to change their locks to stay safe from abuse and get into housing despite evictions and poor credit caused by abuse. The amount of positive changes that have occurred in such a short period of time, makes me happy and hopeful about the future of survivors housing. I can't wait to see what we can accomplish next.
