MIT Experts to Shine a Light on How Housing Inequity is Holding Back Black and Brown Communities
New report exposes racialized housing instability in pandemic evictions in Massachusetts
MA – On Tuesday, March 22, Homes for All Massachusetts and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers will present stark findings from a groundbreaking new report, Housing Justice Beyond the Emergency: An Analysis of Racial Inequity in Eviction Filings Across Massachusetts, that reveals how racial inequity is driving housing instability in cities throughout Massachusetts.
The report lays bare the disturbing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that have been disproportionately felt in Black and brown communities, including infection, job loss, hospitalization, and death at higher rates than white residents. It also reveals similar racialized patterns in eviction filing rates, which were nearly twice as high in Massachusetts communities of color, especially Black and Latinx neighborhoods, during the pandemic. Researchers also found that concentrated ownership by corporate landlords led to higher eviction filing rates, and that single mothers experienced higher eviction filing rates.
“Communities of color in Massachusetts have borne the brunt of displacement for too long. Inequities were magnified by COVID-19, and this report shows communities of color were hit particularly hard by the 33,000 court evictions filed during the pandemic,” said Homes for All Massachusetts leadership team member Andres Del Castillo. “Housing is a human right. I hope this analysis motivates legislators to act with urgency, and helps bring renters and homeowners together to take action for housing justice.”
A panel of experts will speak about these findings, the experiences of facing housing instability and eviction, and the public health implications of this groundbreaking research.
WHO: Panelists include:
Eric Robsky Huntley, MIT, author
Megan Sandel, Boston Medical Center, Children’s HealthWatch
La-Brina Almeida, Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, co-author
Tenants and homeowners experiencing housing injustice
WHAT: A panel of experts to present stark findings on eviction filing rates during the pandemic.
WHEN: Tuesday, March 22, 2022, 11:00 A.M. EST
WHERE: Register for the webinar
Visit our website to view the full report following the webinar.
About Homes for All Massachusetts
Homes for All Mass is a statewide formation of grassroots housing justice groups working to halt displacement, increase community control of land, and win housing justice. We are calling on legislators to immediately implement the eviction and foreclosure protections in the COVID-19 Housing Equity bill (H.1434 and S.891); to prevent drastic restrictions in rent assistance by reversing the Baker administration’s planned elimination of ERAP; and to pass legislation to address the displacement crisis including TOPA (tenant opportunity to purchase) and local-option rent control.
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