“It’s one of the best-designed diversion programs in the country,” said Carl Gershenson of The Eviction Lab at Princeton University. Poor tenants tend to spend most of their income on rent, so a medical bill, job loss or unexpected car repairs can lead to a missed payment. The program’s early success, experts said, was helped immensely by the billions of dollars in federal rental assistance money, which Philadelphia used to pay arrears. Though landlords complained that the payouts did not always go smoothly, the possibility of recouping back rent made mandatory diversion more palatable. She enjoyed stable housing with a housing voucher until early 2017, when she was forced out of a home she had lived in for about a decade.

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Persons: “, ”, Carl Gershenson, Handy Organizations: Princeton University, White, Injuries Locations: Philadelphia