Hannah Adams is a May 2015 graduate from Northeastern University School of Law with a concentration in Poverty Law and Economic Justice. Before law school she spent five years working on housing justice and civil rights issues in New Orleans, Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. While a law student, Hannah participated in housing justice work in Boston, canvassing properties with upcoming foreclosure auctions to provide information about legal rights and available legal assistance. She was awarded the National Lawyers Guild's C.B. King Student Award in 2014. Following law school, Hannah was granted a two year Equal Justice Works Fellowship (sponsored by Norflet Progress Fund) to start a Medical-Legal Partnership to address health-threatening housing conditions facing low-income New Orleans renters. As an Equal Justice Works fellow, Hannah represented tenants in evictions, housing subsidy terminations, and landlord-tenant disputes over repairs.
During her year as a Borchard Fellow, Hannah will expand on her work with Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) to address the unmet housing related legal needs of senior renters in New Orleans. As part of her fellowship she will work to curb the displacement of seniors on fixed incomes from subsidized properties with upcoming expiration dates on their low-income units. She will also continue to address the negative health impacts of substandard rental housing conditions and housing instability among SLLS's senior clients. Finally, she will advocate for senior renters who need accommodations for disabilities in rental housing and who face denial of their rights under fair housing laws. In this way, Hannah will provide direct representation to at least seventy-five clients over the age of fifty, as well as pursue strategic impact litigation to improve rental housing conditions for seniors. She will provide education on housing rights to seniors and the healthcare providers who serve them.
