BOSTON (WHDH) - Hundreds gathered on Boston Common Sunday to urge legislators to extend a law halting evictions and foreclosures doing the coronavirus pandemic, saying tens of thousands of people are in danger of losing their homes.
In April, the state passed an emergency law barring foreclosures and evictions for non-payment of rent, but the moratorium is set to expire Saturday. While a bill that would keep the moratorium in place for another year has passed a housing committee on Beacon Hill, it has not advanced further.
“It’s so important that we pass this bill, because families like mine are looking for help,” said Gabrielle Rene, an organizer with housing group City Life. “Many of us are not trying to not pay our rent. Families are destroyed. They really want to pay, but they don’t have the money. Because when the Covid hit, so many of them lost their jobs.”
“We know in our must vulnerable communities, the communities hit hardest by Covid, they’re the same ones where the housing emergency is also most pronounced,” said Rep. Mike Connolly, D-Cambridge. “And we are walking ourselves into a preventable disaster if we allow this moratorium to expire.”
The housing group Homes For All Massachusetts Coalition plans to march to Governor Baker’s house in Swampscott on Wednesday to call for passage of the bill as well.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)