A community legal advocate told the Chandler City Council on Oct. 16 that the city is confronting an eviction surge and urged immediate investment in eviction‑prevention legal services and a right‑to‑counsel pilot.

Shannon Hayes, who identified herself as a community legal advocate certified by the Arizona Supreme Court, said Chandler is on track for more than 3,600 eviction filings this year and that 53% of tenants in the filings never appear in court. “Fifty‑three percent of these families never stand a chance because they don't have a lawyer,” she said, and she contrasted landlord representation rates (which she said approach 90%) with tenant representation rates (which she said are under 3%).

Hayes said her nonprofit partner organization applied for city funding to provide eviction prevention services but was denied; she said an organization she named at the meeting, AZ Send, received approximately $300,000 for services and had declined to collaborate with her group.

Hayes asked the council for emergency funding for a right‑to‑counsel pilot program and a coordinated prevention system. She offered to provide a detailed report on eviction data to the council and said prevention saves public costs and protects families.

City staff and council members said they had met with Hayes previously, described ongoing conversations about funding and resources, and asked staff to obtain Hayes’s report and return with an update on available prevention services and potential funding paths. No funding decision was made at the Oct. 16 meeting.