February 12, 2022
A group of students will come together to raise awareness about keeping families in their homes. According to a press release, on February 13 at 1 p.m., fifth-grade students involved with Boston Workers Circle and youth from City Life/Vida Urbana “will speak out to stop non-emergency evictions and foreclosures during the pandemic ( including pandemic debt-related evictions, no-fault evictions, and evictions due to a landlord’s refusal to accept rent relief and requiring mortgage modifications). Street theater for CM2 students will involve the construction of a “succa”. They “will perform a skit involving a landlord giving an eviction notice, CLVU offering support, and a state legislator stepping forward to explain how the legislation can help.”
A representative from CLVU gave some information about the street theater that will take place at the State House:
“Sukes (Sukkot) is a Jewish holiday associated with appreciation of our homes and surroundings. The sukkah, a ritual temporary house built during the fall holiday of Sukes/Sukkot, is a Jewish tool in our history and our tradition that reminds us every year of our vulnerability and the impact of housing insecurity.Today, we reinterpret the sukkah and use it in a public event to educate Jewish activists about housing insecurity. Students will use the sukkah to symbolize the housing instability for many Massachusetts residents who are being forced out of their homes, a situation that has been made worse by the pandemic.Together we say MORE evictions and foreclosures for purposes income – we demand the passage of housing justice bills.
Tzipporah Rosenstock, 10, issued a statement on her involvement:
“As a 5th grade student at Boston Workers Circle, I support the City Life/Vida Urbana campaign for statewide rent control because I believe in the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, which means fixing the world. In my ideal world, every child has a house. A home is more than having a roof over their head, but too many children don’t even have one. Rent control will improve housing stability among low-income families and give more children the permanent housing they deserve.
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