Extend the Somerville Eviction Moratorium! Week of Action
Update: Our campaign succeeded! We won an extension of the Somerville eviction moratorium through April 30, 2022. Read about what this means here: bit.ly/SomervilleMoratoriumVictory21
The City of Somerville's eviction moratorium may be extended until November 30, but residents need more time to recover from the pandemic. We must act now to guarantee protections for tenants until June 2022!
Join us in calling upon Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone and the Board of Health to extend the city’s moratorium on behalf of our neighbors and fellow renters. No one should be at risk of eviction or homelessness during a global pandemic!
Ask your friends and neighbors to take action with us! Share this campaign page: bit.ly/SomervilleMoratoriumCampaign2021
On Facebook: https://fb.me/e/G2o0SMbx / Twitter / Instagram
TAKE ACTION WITH US!
Sign our petition, especially if you live or work in Somerville: bit.ly/SomervilleMoratoriumPetition
Call and email your City of Somerville elected officials at our Advocacy Hour on Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 7:00 pm. Register here: bit.ly/SomervilleAdvocacyHour
~ Or contact them on your own using these templates. Let us know if you have questions or when you have reached out by sending Sam a short email.Show up at our Call to Conscience Demonstration outside Somerville City Hall (93 Highland Ave) before the next Board of Health meeting on Thursday, Sept. 9 at 5:00 pm. This will be a peaceful demonstration. Signs and family are welcome!
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic and Massachusetts coronavirus state of emergency was declared March 10, 2020. This crisis created unprecedented health and economic devastation around the world. In Massachusetts alone, there have been more than 762,000 cases and an estimated 18,257 deaths since March 12, 2020. It’s also estimated that approximately 101,000 households statewide9 are behind on rent, accruing over $307.9 million in rent debt.
The CDC/federal eviction moratorium was enacted on September 4, 2020 and prohibited physical levies (removals) of tenants. This policy offered partial protection to tenants who were impacted by the coronavirus and facing eviction due to non-payment of rent. After multiple extensions, on August 26, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court suspended this order, leaving upwards of 40 million renters nationwide without protection from eviction.
The City of Somerville Mayor and Board of Health issued its own municipal residential and commercial eviction moratorium in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 28, 2020. During this time, no Somerville resident could be removed from their dwelling, even with a court order.
On June 17, 2021, the Somerville order was revised and extended for 90 days from the end of the Massachusetts coronavirus state of emergency (June 15), through September 15, 2021.
NEW: On September 3, 2021, Mayor Joe Curtatone announced a proposed extension of the Somerville moratorium order through November 30, 2021. This still requires approval by the Board of Health at its upcoming meeting on September 9. Our campaign committee believes firmly that this still would not be enough time for renters, especially as winter approaches and as the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant rises.
Why we are fighting for an extension of the moratorium:
Housing is a matter of public health, safety, and racial justice. The COVID-19 pandemic has left thousands of people without work, food security, and housing stability. A recent study found that in states where eviction moratoriums expired, this led to “over 400,000 Covid-19 cases and nearly 11,000 excess deaths in the 27 states studied that allowed their protections to lapse.” The COVID-19 Delta variant is also increasingly infecting Somerville residents, despite higher than average vaccination rates for our city.
Upon the SCOTUS ruling that ended the CDC moratorium, President Joe Biden also called on all entities to “urgently act to prevent evictions.”
Massachusetts and other states still have billions of dollars in federal rental assistance that has not been distributed to renters. There are unprecedented resources for rental assistance within Somerville at CAAS, the Somerville Office of Housing Stability, and other agencies, yet tenants and landlords may not know where to turn and need more time to apply.
For every day that Somerville does not extend its moratorium, the threat of eviction poses disproportionately greater risks to low-income, working-class, people of color, and immigrant, disabled, and elderly communities, who already face systemic inequities and barriers to health and housing stability. The uncertainty and constantly changing timelines of the moratorium also inflicts stress, anguish, and trauma.
Evictions cause devastating and long lasting trauma for households, especially families with school-aged children. Extending the moratorium during this pandemic is essential to sustaining and protecting the health and welfare of our residents — and is simply the moral decision policymakers must act upon.
There is a clear and urgent need for the City of Somerville to extend the eviction moratorium beyond September 15th. An extension through June 2022 will guarantee a year of recovery and protect the health, safety, and housing stability of all Somerville residents. Thank you for fighting with us!
Organized by:
Somerville Renters Committee
Somerville Eviction Response Network (ERN)
Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS)