Tomas is two years old and he has three brothers. His mother, Marisol, is a child care worker. Faced with low wages and a tight rental market, the best apartment she could afford was in poor condition. It had roaches and rats, and the stove sparked, so she was afraid to cook. She asked the landlord to fix the problems, and he responded with an eviction notice. Marisol knew that wasn’t right, but she couldn’t get the landlord to listen to her. Then a co-worker suggested calling legal aid. Legal aid negotiated an agreement with her landlord, including cleanup and repairs. The landlord followed through, and now Tomas, Marisol, and the rest of the family have a clean, safe place to live.
