When the statewide eviction moratorium expires on October 17, as many as 100,000 households will be threatened with eviction, housing insecurity and homelessness, and a disproportionate number of those households will be people of color living in communities already hardest hit by COVID-19.
The Network is proud to help Western Massachusetts be heard in the call to pass the Guaranteed Housing Stability Act (H5018/S2813) (see factsheet here), which is the only comprehensive solution that will protect tenants who are unable to pay rent due to the impact of COVID-19 and will create a fund to assist small-scale landlords who have lost income due to the pandemic.
Here’s what you can do now (or by tomorrow, October 13, when we are joining forces with the Statewide Public Health Day of Action):
Please contact the three people who have the most power to keep people in their homes (see sample script below):
- Governor Baker: (617) 725-4005 or charlie.baker@state.ma.us
- Senate President Spilka: (617) 722-1640, Karen.Spilka@masenate.gov
- Speaker Robert DeLeo: (617) 722-2500 or Robert.DeLeo@mahouse.gov
- and copy your own state senator and representative as well (go here to find your legislators)
A big thanks to many in our Western MA legislative delegation already fighting for this. And they ALL still need to hear from us to build their case with legislative leadership.
Please forward this message to your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues and please post on social media (#HousingGuaranteeMA #HousingJusticeIsRacialJustice).
We need everyone to speak up this week to prevent this tsunami of evictions. This makes no sense, for human decency, for racial and economic justice, and for containment of this pandemic which has already wreaked so much devastation on our communities.
Sample phone/email script:
“Hello my name is (your name) and I live in (city/town). I really appreciate your leadership to prevent evictions by passing the strongest eviction moratorium in the country earlier this year. The moratorium is about to expire, which will lead to a true public health catastrophe across Massachusetts. I’m asking that you please take action now to pass the Guaranteed Housing Stability Bill (H5018/S2813). We need strong and immediate action to prevent a crisis of evictions and homelessness, which will pour fuel on the fire of the COVID-19 pandemic, including deepening already unconscionable racial health inequities in Massachusetts. We’re counting on you to act before it’s too late! Thank you.”
P.S. After you contact your legislators, please email Pamela at pschwartz@westernmasshousingfirst.org – let’s keep track of our impact!
