March 23, 2023

Greetings!

Thank you to everyone who has taken action the past two weeks to extend Chapter 257 eviction protections. We are back with a new one-minute online action on Chapter 257 for individuals to take, as well as an invitation to join us at the State House or online on Monday for a hearing on Governor Healey’s proposal to establish the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.

Please keep reading below for more details on how you can take action.

Thank you for your collaboration! We look forward to hearing from you if you have any questions or feedback.

In solidarity,
Kelly and Julia

Kelly Turley
Associate Director
She/her/hers

Julia Garvey
Community Organizer/Legislative Advocate
She/her/hers

P.S. Stay up to date with the Coalition’s advocacy initiatives by following us on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. (Links also included at the top of this message.)

Take action to extend Chapter 257 eviction protections!

Many tenants in Massachusetts facing an eviction currently can get a continuance from the court if they show that they have a pending application for benefits under the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program or another short-term emergency rental assistance program. In addition, the court cannot issue a judgment or an eviction execution before the application is approved or denied.

Without action, however, this important eviction prevention tool provided under a law known as Chapter 257 is set to expire on Friday, March 31st.

Join us in signing this one-minute online action today to legislators from the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless and Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. Please also share this link with family, friends, and colleagues: https://tinyurl.com/ch257action.

Relevant Chapter 257 links:
Weigh in on the establishment of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities

Please join us at the State House or online this Monday. March 27th, 11 a.m.–1 p.m., for a legislative hearing on Governor Healey’s state government reorganization proposal to establish the new Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. As described by the Governor, if created, "(t)he executive office will be the principal office of the executive branch dedicated to creating and carrying out housing policy." Currently, the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (EOHED) is the cabinet-level agency overseeing housing issues, with the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) underneath it.

The hearing will be held by the Legislature's Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, which is chaired by Senator Nick Collins of Boston and Representative Tony Cabral of New Bedford.

It is important for stakeholders like you to weigh in with ideas and feedback to ensure that housing and homelessness issues receive the attention and resources that are needed to serve every child, youth, and adult across the Commonwealth facing housing instability and homelessness and to promote housing justice and equity in every region of the state.

Read more about the hearing, including how to sign up to testify and submit written testimony. Please let us know if you plan to participate.


Thank you for your engagement and participation!