BOISE, Idaho — The nonprofit, Jesse Tree has a new partnership with the University of Idaho College of Law. Law students are working with Jesse Tree staff to keep people facing eviction, in their homes.
"We need so much help in eviction court right now," Jesse Tree executive director, Ali Rabe said.
These law students are able to fill that need.
"Specific skills that law students have related to working with clients, mediation and spotting legal issues really helps supplement the skills we have on our team," Rabe said.
Jesse Tree provides more than legal aid to people facing eviction. They also provide financial assistance and case management.
"So you can be their attorney and you can work with them through the process, but if you don't also have access to funds, they're most likely going to get evicted anyway," Rabe said.
One of the law students, Doug Plass said he likes working with this combination of resources, "It's been great to be in that role and feel like that you can--you can help people out and kind of come up with solutions that really everybody's generally happy with."
Another law student, Garret Pearson said working with Jesse Tree is a breath of fresh air and a chance to get experience in court.
"To kind of network and reach out to several of the attorneys on the other side and kind of see if we can work things off the book so we can have a seamless transition both in the courtroom to kind of get a resolution that's best for both parties," he said.
For information about Jesse Tree and the resources they provide, click here.
