More than 3.5 million U.S. households are threatened with eviction each year, a poignant illustration of rising housing costs. The causes of eviction can be complex, following a synergy of poverty and low wages, rising rent costs, inflation, and drug and mental health challenges for citizens living paycheck to paycheck. Yet, for many individuals, an eviction can be the result of common life occurrences, such middle-income suburban renters facing an unexpected bill or work hours reduced. Evictions have also been rising steadily across Indiana since the end of COVID-19 eviction protections. Evictions are seasonal, often peaking in the summer. Displacement is traumatic for the individuals and families involved and impacts stability and quality of life at all levels personally and for the community.

The Polis Center developed a new statewide tool to help users better understand trends and relationships between evictions and societal factors. The goal of the tool is to raise awareness of evictions in Indiana and provide a resource to empower communities to instill change. The dashboard features many resources for tenants, researchers, and stakeholders. Benefits include:

• Users may explore spatial trends of evictions and foreclosures over time at multiple geographic levels in Indiana.
• Users may examine important associations between socioeconomic variables and evictions data.
• Users will have the opportunity to provide an anonymous story of their eviction experience on a qualitative data page.

Check out the Evictions Dashboard!

You may also be interested in seeing the recorded December 2023 webinar in which we showcased the tool and featured a panel discussion on the topic by experts in the field.  You can find webinar recording here.