Housing eviction is a lose-lose proposition. Each situation may be different, but the results are pretty much the same: individuals and families no longer have a place to live, and landlords have more often than not had to go through a frustrating, costly procedure that the vast majority would hope to avert if at all possible. Still, eviction happens.

Evictions tend to go up during the summer. Speculation as to why may include landlords waiting until tenants’ children are out of school or feeling that warmer weather is less Dickensian-cruel than forcing a family out into the cold.

The basic scenario is that tenants are late in paying their rent. For the working poor all it takes is a job loss or an unexpected unavoidable expense to cause the rent to go unpaid, paid late, or not in full. When you barely make enough to make ends meet and you have no reserve, the consequences can be profound.

Perhaps one piece of good news is the fact that in most cases there is warning. Landlords often send tenants notice about late and unpaid rent. In such cases when the actual eviction has not yet occurred there may be a chance to avoid it.

That’s where MUM comes in. MUM may be able to provide the financial assistance that can make the difference between the basic security of a place to live and the family-destroying uncertainty of being on the street, possessions on the curb, and the fast, downward spiral into long term homelessness and poverty. In addition to having some financial assistance to provide on their own, MUM cooperates with other Montgomery County agencies, as part of the Emergency Assistance Coalition. Here is information about how MUM works to prevent an eviction.

Whether MUM helps as an individual agency or with the help of others, ultimately, we can’t do it without you. MUM depends on the generosity of its donors to save a family from the streets. The amounts needed are as varied as the circumstances of each eviction. And because the resources can be pooled together, there is no such things as too small of a donation. Your contribution will help families facing eviction stay in their homes.

Summer is a wonderful time of year for so many. Vacations and leisure time with family and friends are among the pleasures. When it gets too hot we can go indoors into a comfortable air-conditioned world or one with fans to cool us off. Without a home, this isn’t an option. Please consider donating now in the summer so that families facing financial challenges won’t have to also face life on the street. You can donate now HERE. Thank you for your support. MUM wishes you a wonderful summer!