University of Mississippi School of Law Housing Clinic Director Desiree Hensley and staff attorney Jordan Hughes were recently recognized by the Association of American Law Schools for their outstanding pro bono work in Cleveland, Mississippi where the team took on representation for 50 tenants living in uninhabitable conditions in the Sunset Village Apartments.
This case presented in the Fall of 2022 when a former clinic student, living and practicing in the area, reached out to the Housing Clinic for assistance after reports surfaced concerning the death of a mother and her 5-year-old daughter from a gas leak in their Sunset apartment. Since the Clinic intervened last October, closer inspection has revealed widespread hazardous conditions present in the apartments of other residents still living in the complex. Progress and litigation are ongoing as Housing fights to secure larger, structural remedies for the environmental issues that continue to threaten the health and safety of the families and children living in the apartments.