On Monday, the City Council unanimously passed a resolution urging banks and mortgage companies to hold off on foreclosures in the city in the wake of the June 1 tornado.
Now, the Springfield No One Leaves Coalition—which advocates for residents facing foreclosures and evictions—has written an open letter to Gov. Deval Patrick, asking him to throw his weight behind the effort as well.
The resolution—which was sponsored by Ward 6 Councilor Amaad Rivera, Ward 4 Councilor Henry Twiggs, and at-large Councilors Tim Rooke and Jose Tosado—notes that the city has been declared a disaster area by both the federal and state governments, and says that “in the time of this crisis, our City cannot afford any more residents deprived of their homes.” Although non-binding, the resolution “encourages” lenders to “implement a voluntary moratorium on foreclosures and no-fault evictions for the residents of the City.”
In the letter to Patrick, No One Leaves thanks the governor for his “leadership in support of Springfield’s recovery and rebuilding” and his “focused attention and presence in our city over the past three weeks, as well as [his] commitment of state resources.”
It goes on to ask Patrick to support the Council resolution, noting that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in light of the federal designation of the city as a disaster area, implemented a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures on loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration. “Given the devastation of our city and the massive displacement of Springfield families, we need the forbearance and moratorium to be immediately extended to all banks, as well as an immediate moratorium on no-fault evictions,” the letter says. “Please do everything in your power to support this forbearance and moratorium as soon as possible to prevent further displacement of Springfield families as our city attempts to recover from the tornado disaster.”
No One Leaves also expressed concern that there hasn’t been an accurate count of the number of city residents displaced by the tornado, which would make it harder to efficiently find housing for those people.
“We urge you to remain an active partner in addressing our city’s housing needs,” No One Leaves asks Patrick. “Please make sure that community-based organizations like ours will have a genuine seat at the table during the recovery and rebuilding process.”
