A program that provides legal assistance and rent relief for Chattanooga residents has helped 160 households avoid eviction during a nine-month period ending in June, an approximately 40% increase over a similar time frame last year, according to the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga.

Local advocates want to keep the work of the Hamilton County Eviction Prevention Initiative going and are planning to shift management of the program from the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga to Legal Aid of East Tennessee.

The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga and its partners assembled the program at the height of the pandemic to respond to an emerging need, Maeghan Jones, the foundation‘s president said.

The city has committed $1.5 million in federal relief funds to the initiative.