Keeping Boise Housed: Evan Stewart on Preventing Homelessness | The Essence of You Podcast

Steph Lokelani sits down with Evan Stewart, executive director of Jesse Tree, the Treasure Valley nonprofit working to prevent homelessness before it happens. Evan explains who Jesse Tree serves: working families, single parents, and seniors living paycheck to paycheck, often just one car repair or medical bill away from falling behind on rent.

He breaks down why Idaho is one of the fastest-evicting states in the country, why an eviction record follows renters for life, and how Ada County's eviction court mediation model has helped cut judgment rates dramatically. He also shares what Jesse Tree is seeing in Canyon County, the findings of its 2025 Treasure Valley eviction report, and the Keep Boise Housed community event.

Evan talks about his own path, from a PhD in applied anthropology and water and sanitation work in Nepal to joining Jesse Tree in 2020 and growing with it as the team expanded from six people to about 25. Steph shares her family's own experience of being priced out of Hawaii, and the two close on why prevention is one of the smartest investments a community can make.

ABOUT EVAN STEWART & JESSE TREE

As Executive Director of Jesse Tree, one of the Treasure Valley’s largest nonprofits, my career is dedicated to preventing homelessness by keeping our neighbors housed. Jesse Tree provides emergency rental assistance and helps tenants facing eviction work with their landlords in court in order to prevent the trauma and expense of becoming homeless. In the past year, Jesse Tree helped 3,000 individuals and 1,500 families stay in their homes. I’ve led programs at Jesse Tree for the past five years, and prior to that, worked in the nonprofit center and in universities on some of the trickiest social problems facing our communities. I oversee Jesse Tree’s dedicated team of 20+ staff members who advocate for tenants and show up every day for the most vulnerable in our communities. I hold a Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology from the University of Montana and a M.A. from Texas A&M. When not working, you’ll find me fly fishing or practicing Brazilian jiu jitsu.

Visit the Jesse Tree website to learn more: https://www.jessetreeidaho.org/

Donate to Jesse Tree: https://www.jessetreeidaho.org/donate

🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS

- Most people facing eviction are working. About 40% of those who contact Jesse Tree name a health emergency as the trigger.

- Idaho evictions move fast. A missed rent payment can lead to eviction in about 21 days, and the record is permanent.

- Talk to your landlord early. Many will offer more time or a payment plan if they know what's going on.

- Mediation works. Ada County's judgment rate fell from 50% to 19% after Jesse Tree began joining court mediation in 2023.

- Prevention costs far less. Jesse Tree spends about $2,000 to keep someone housed, versus roughly $20,000 to rehouse them.

- 95% of the people Jesse Tree serves don't access homelessness services in the five years after working with Jesse Tree.

- At his core, Evan leads with curiosity, small moments of joy, kindness, gratitude, and faith.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

0:00 – Cold open: wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and yoga

1:23 – Welcome + meet Evan Stewart

1:52 – What Jesse Tree does

3:01 – One emergency away from eviction

6:49 – A single mom, a medical bill, and eviction court

9:53 – Why Idaho is one of the fastest-evicting states

10:52 – A 1970s law in a corporate landlord era

12:35 – An eviction record is permanent in Idaho

14:33 – Homelessness is a housing problem

16:37 – Touring Interfaith Sanctuary

18:54 – 2,000 calls a month: the Tenant Resource Center

20:17 – Why talking to your landlord matters

22:53 – Property managers and pressure from the top

25:03 – The Emergency Rent Assistance Program

25:59 – Inside Ada County eviction court mediation

28:53 – Judgment rates drop from 50% to 19%

29:33 – Community health workers and housing navigators

31:16 – Why the Treasure Valley's nonprofits matter

32:50 – Evan's path: a PhD in applied anthropology

34:14 – Nonprofit work in Nepal

36:03 – Social work in Missoula and ACEs

37:28 – Moving to Boise and joining Jesse Tree

39:40 – Keep Boise Housed

44:05 – Steph's family leaves Hawaii

47:29 – The 2025 Treasure Valley eviction report

48:41 – Canyon County and the missing mediation program

53:21 – Case management, budgeting, and housing plans

54:31 – A 95% success rate

56:06 – Prevention vs. the cost of homelessness

57:37 – Nonprofits as a community investment

1:01:03 – Closing question

1:02:01 – Outro