When we fight, we WIN! Somerville moratorium extended until April 30, 2022

Facebook cover Victory graphic Extend Moratorium.png

Last Thursday night, the Somerville Board of Health voted in favor of extending the local eviction moratorium from September 15, 2021 through April 30, 2022!

We, the people, made this stronger policy a reality through grassroots organizing as a community. We thank each of you for engaging in this campaign over the last week, and to those of you who’ve been organizing with CAAS since last year (and long before us, as well!). Please keep reading for a recap of what the extension means and what we achieved. 

Share this campaign victory page: bit.ly/SomervilleMoratoriumVictory21

Campaign victory posts on CAAS’ social media: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Why does this extension matter?

Although the April timeline doesn’t meet our original campaign goal of an extension until June, this was still a very unexpected and welcome victory. The City of Somerville has the longest continuous municipal eviction and foreclosure moratorium in the state of Massachusetts (read the full order here).

The extension means 7 more months of protections for renters and homeowners in our city, rather than the 2 months that was originally proposed. It grants more time to residents to apply and receive financial assistance without the threat of being evicted or foreclosed upon during the winter. It means less risk of the highly contagious Delta COVID-19 variant spreading in our community. It gives agencies like CAAS more time to organize and do outreach to people in need — which also means that the work doesn’t stop here to keep our neighbors stably housed.

Here’s what we accomplished together:

Nearly 30 of you joined our Call to Conscience demonstration in front of Somerville City Hall in the rain. Please watch the recording of our speaking program to hear the moving stories of Denise and Yolanda, two members of the Somerville Renters Committee (begins @13:20).

  • 323 community members signed our petition, including: 6 current elected officials, 13 candidates who are not yet in office, nearly a dozen youth, and 14% of signatories speak languages other than English, with 10% speaking Spanish

  • You made 30 advocacy calls and 25 emails to city officials (that we’re aware of!)

  • Nearly 30 of you joined our Call to Conscience demonstration in front of Somerville City Hall in the rain! If you couldn’ be there, please watch the recording below of our speaking program to hear the moving stories of Denise and Yolanda, two members of the Somerville Renters Committee (begins @13:20). 

  • And 5 of you attended the virtual Board of Health meeting on September 9th and shared your personal testimony in favor of the extension — where the members voted for the April 30 extension! 

Demonstration photos courtesy of Kimberly Abruzzo, Magda Gomez, and Fabiano Latham. Please contact us for permission to use.

What’s next?

We hope you will continue to be part of this local movement for housing justice that’s organized by CAAS, but driven by compassionate and dedicated members of our community like you. We need to mobilize and make sure that residents know their rights and where to find help. If you aren’t already involved in any of our Community Organizing programs, we invite you to join us more officially here: 

  • Monthly virtual Somerville Renters Meetings where working class and lower income renters can share your story, learn about your tenants’ rights, and become involved in community organizing. Meetings take place on Zoom and are interpreted from English into Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole. Click here to register for the next meeting, which is actually tonight (9/13/21) from 7-8:30 pm! 

  • The Somerville Eviction Response Network is a collective of residents, workers, and allies who are ready to take action to prevent evictions through Know Your Rights canvasses and non-violent direct actions. Meetings take place on Zoom every few months. Click here to join our membership. 

 Thank you for advocating and taking action on behalf of the Somerville community. We are proud to be your neighbors, and truly could not have done this without you!

Organized by: 

Somerville Renters Committee
Somerville Eviction Response Network (ERN)
Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS)

Kate Berliner