Ombudsman helps man avoid eviction

A building on West Monument Avenue that houses the Dayton-Montgomery County ombudsman's offices. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

A building on West Monument Avenue that houses the Dayton-Montgomery County ombudsman's offices. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

Editor’s note: The Dayton Ombudsman Office provides weekly columns to the Dayton Daily News to bring awareness to issues it sees. The column was recently moved to the Ideas & Voices section to help readers identify solutions to common problems in their communities.

A man contacted the Ombudsman for help in preventing an eviction from his housing. The man was late in completing the annual recertification application which proves his financial eligibility to remain in his subsidized apartment. The man stated that the reason he was late was that the application had to be done online, and no paper forms were available. The man does not use a computer.

The man asked his grandson to assist him in completing the application and he believed that the form was successfully completed. But when he received a notice to report to a court date for eviction, he realized it was not done after all. He spoke with the legal office of the agency and was directed to contact a specific property manager for the agency and to request the manager to “unlock” the application. The man had been unable to reach the property manager, he turned to the Ombudsman for assistance.

The Ombudsman contacted the agency and explained the man’s inability to use a computer and stressed the urgency of a court date approaching within several days. The property manager was informed and contacted the man. The application was completed, and the eviction was prevented.

The Ombudsman Column, a production of the Joint Office of Citizens’ Complaints, summarizes selected problems that citizens have had with government services, schools and nursing homes in the Dayton area. Contact the Ombudsman by writing to us at 11 W. Monument Ave., Suite 606, Dayton 45402, call 937-223- 4613, or by electronic mail at ombudsman@dayton-ombudsman.org.

About the Author