The prepared remarks from @MassGovernor Baker focused on individual choices & the kinds of dilemmas faced by his wealthy friends. How about the skyrocketing # of people facing eviction & foreclosure? We need POLICY to protect tenants & workers... not just lectures. #mapoli

How exactly should all the people with eviction notices who I'm hearing from "take advantage of the guidance?" They can't... because the Gov's weak "eviction diversion initiative" completely left out protection from eviction & foreclosure.

The State Legislature could've fixed that by passing the Housing Stability Act to provide legal protection to prevent tenants, homeowners, small-scale landlords from losing homes due to payments missed b/c of #COVID19... but they failed to act w/ no vote taken. cc: @act_on_mass

So now the most irresponsible landlords are free to send eviction notices & file eviction cases as if we weren't in the middle of a damn pandemic. The court data underplays the crisis b/c there are so many "informal" evictions & b/c many landlords are filing "no fault" cases.

There are so many ways the additional $ to help tenants the Gov mentioned is not adequate without eviction protection. Clearest ex: participation in rental arrearage programs is voluntary for landlords, who can just evict instead (eg when processing an application takes months).

This failure to protect tenants, homeowners at risk of foreclosure, workers, low-income people, & other vulnerable groups is causing immense suffering, stress (including for people who live for months w/ threat of displacement hanging over them), sickness, & even death...

Meanwhile Gov Baker is apparently most informed by experiences of people whose biggest dilemma is whether or not to go out to eat. Not on people threatened by eviction. Not on the workers in that restaurant. Not on people who can't afford to eat at all.

The Gov can yell about how he thinks of the impact of the shutdowns on blue collar workers all day, but that won't help communities like my hometown of #LynnMA. We need policy to help us, not empty words. Halting #COVID19 evictions & foreclosures would be a good place to start.