By Jack Puricelli, ‘25

I began working for the Indianapolis-based Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic the summer before my junior year of college. I was a high-achieving college student with law school aspirations, so naturally I sought out pro bono work to diversify my resume. It was in my individualistic search for accolades that I witnessed the extent of America’s collective legal suffering.

My first day at The Clinic laid bare the scale of suffering in Indianapolis and the inadequate response to said suffering. My introduction was innocuous enough—a routine walkthrough of their office at Trinity Outreach Center, meeting the staff attorneys, paralegals, and volunteers I would be working with, and a brief introduction by Executive Director Erin Hall to the many projects I would be working on during my stay. However, my first assignment was as lowly as it was grueling—reception duty. For my first two days on the job, I sat at the front desk, answered phone calls, directed clients to their appointments, and referred potential clients to organizations better suited to their needs.

I will never forget the first man I spoke to that day. He was older black man in his late 40s or early 50s. His shorts and t-shirt were worn and faded, and he had a makeshift sack slung on his shoulder, holding an assorted mix of clothes, toiletries, and personal items. His parched expression spoke of his desperate situation. This man had been evicted from his home last week after failing to keep up with rent–a combination of inflation, COVID-19, and steady rent hikes had pushed him out of the home he had known for years. The Marion County Sherriff gave him 15 minutes to vacate his home—the sling over his shoulder held what little of his life he could gather in that brief time.  A maintenance worker at his old apartment complex told him squatters were now living in his home—he asked if there was anything I could do.

Eviction and landlord-tenant disputes are not outside the purview of Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic. The Clinic is one of the partners with the City of Indianapolis to provide legal services through the Tenant Advocacy Project to renters facing eviction. TAP services are a no-cost legal remedy to renters in a crisis meant to keep tenants in their homes. TAP services are provided before or on the day of an eviction hearing, not as a remedy after the fact. In the eyes of the law, the cruel and unjust situation before him was legally sanctioned. The Marion County Sheriff’s Department enforced his removal. The small claims court of his township considered it justified. The judge who removed him from his home believed his ruling was in accordance with the law. The statutes of Indiana dictated the function and path of this depraved sequence of events. I had no legal services to offer him. So, I had no legal services to offer him.

My first day was not an anomaly—nor was the life of that man. 50 million American households live at or below 125% of the Federal poverty line, with a higher proportion of black households in poverty and suffering legal and financial distress because of COVID-19 than non-white households (The Justice Gap 23-24). Of 2021 low-income families, nearly 50% of households faced consumer legal issues (primarily debt collection) or healthcare issues (securing insurance coverage, incorrect billing, and difficulty accessing necessary healthcare) (The Justice Gap 33-34). The state of financial and home security for America’s poorest is equally as shocking: 33% of low-income households–43% of renters–experienced at least one legal housing issue (lease disputes, landlords falling behind on repairs, falling behind on rent, and being evicted or receiving an eviction notice) (The Justice Gap 34). In a nation of unprecedented wealth and prosperity, where all are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, how can its poorest suffer to this degree? In a nation proud of its legal history and the resiliency and fairness of its judiciary, how is this dearth of justice allowed? Maybe I’m asking the wrong question. Instead of asking why there is no justice, I should be asking if this is the justice we want as Americans.

Legal Services Corporation. 2022. The Justice Gap: The Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-income Americans. Prepared by Mary C. Slosar, Slosar Research LLC.