The Tenant Assistance Project has been awarded the third ever Laurie Smith Camp Integrity in Service Award. This award – started in 2021 and named after the first female federal judge in Nebraska – is awarded to those who have shown great contributions to the community in terms of advanced diversity and inclusion; improving access to justice; providing pro bono service; mentoring others; advancing innovation in the legal profession; or serving and representing the legal community.

The Tenant Assistance Project (TAP) started April of 2020 in Lincoln, early in the pandemic when many were facing the threat of eviction with no income to protect them. Before TAP, tenants would often be unrepresented in court and would not know how to defend themselves, which would often lead to immediate evictions. During the pandemic, lawyers would go down to the courthouse and volunteer their services, before it became apparent that this was a large enough problem to need more than a handful of people working on it. Contacting the Nebraska State Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyer Project (VLP), they were able to form TAP to help their citizens. In 2021, TAP expanded to Omaha and Douglas County.

For Nebraskans as a whole, most cases of tenants risking eviction come down to failure to pay rent, or any number of reasons such as job loss, unexpected expenses, or even being forced to choose what bills you are able to pay at any given time due to lack of funds. “The majority of people we see are doing their best to get by and something happens to knock them off track, and that builds until the point they are with us in eviction court,” commented Lia Bies, the TAP Managing Attorney.

TAP trains volunteer attorneys in landlord/tenant law, giving them the tools to help individuals in need. TAP has been able to protect 98% of their cases from immediate eviction, all while being a volunteer organization. These volunteers also include law students, who work on preparing the case, notifying tenants, and working with the attorneys to assist the tenants. Since 2020, they have helped more than 1,600 families and gained their clients over $20 million in federal aid or rental assistance.

“It’s an incredible honor. Judge Smith Camp was a giant in the Nebraska legal field, so receiving an award named after her is an honor,” said Bies. “We show up and do the work every day, and we are so grateful for our volunteers. The program wouldn’t exist without them. We’re providing the structure, but out volunteers are doing the work, and that is invaluable.”

Bies expressed graduated towards her fellow lawyers in Nebraska. “It’s been really great to see the legal community rally around this cause. Honestly this award is recognition of what our community as a whole has poured into this cause,” said Bies. “I’m [also] grateful to the Bar Association for their steadfast support of this project. We’re here because of a whole lot of people who believe in what we do.”

For lawyers out there that are interested in volunteering for the program, contact Lia Bies at lbies@nevlp.org, where TAP will provide all the training needed to assist in protecting tenants from losing their homes.