POWR: Freeze Evictions, Not People
Providence Organization of Workers and Renters (POWR) to name and shame Rhode Island's biggest evictors at courthouse protest...
A press release from POWR:
POWR (Providence Organization of Workers and Renters) members who have faced evictions will speak out against record rent increases, the City’s failure to address the crisis, and what should be done to address it. We are calling on Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and the City to put an emergency moratorium on rent increases and to halt evictions until this crisis is addressed.
The protest is scheduled for tonight, Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 5:30pm at the Garrahy Judicial Complex, 1 Dorrance Street, Providence RI.
POWR members who have been evicted and threatened with eviction will speak to their experiences and the impact rising rents and the eviction court have had on their families.
Other POWR members will speak about our plans moving forward with the Freeze Rents, Not People campaign.
No evictions. Freeze rents, not people. The City of Providence should put a moratorium on rent increases to prevent further displacement of working-class families. Beyond putting families out on the streets during the holidays, evictions and the threat of baseless evictions are leveraged by landlords to intimidate and manipulate renters. Landlords consistently decline to rent to anyone who has had an eviction filing made against them. Often these filings are baseless retaliation from landlords that are not upheld but are still used to discriminate against tenants for years. This eviction blacklist should be sealed. There should be no evictions while the housing crisis goes unaddressed.
“Landlords are often not compliant with housing codes and regulations around mold, lead, and pests, but are still collecting rent while they sicken the families who live there.” – Tiara Graham
Providence saw the highest average rent increases in the country in 2023 (15%), producing a crisis for working families that the city is not recognizing, let alone addressing. The Washington Bridge is not the only “cascading failure” in the City of Providence: for some families rent increases mean giving up on the hope of saving to buy their own home; most people must make sacrifices to make rent; others end up moving into more cramped apartments; others end up on the street. Families are being evicted for being unable to pay the fastest-increasing rent in the country. Working-class people should not be forced to continue to pay the price for housing speculation, greed, and poor state planning geared towards wealthy developers and landlords.
“We need to start in the courtrooms, and with the legal representation that’s available to renters. We also need rent control in Providence. Making sure everyone is safe and housed saves money.” – Sucely Murillo
POWR is a directly democratic, dues-based membership organization committed to advancing housing, workplace, and community struggles affecting the working class in Providence. More information at: www.powrpvd.org