We, as representatives of the artistic community of Philadelphia, stand in solidarity to demand that City Council restore the promised 16 million allocated to the Housing Trust Fund that the mayor’s austerity budget has callously slashed.

We are proud to be a part of the robust artistic and cultural scene here in Philadelphia. If the Housing Trust Fund and social services like it are defunded, we will face a much longer fight with Covid-19. This will devastate our artistic community. Theaters, galleries, concert halls and museums cannot face being closed for years. Almost all of us are currently unemployed. Soon many of us will be displaced. The city we love, the city that we call home, will no longer exist for us. If we stay, we will have to find new lines of work in the midst of a pandemic. Philadelphia’s thriving cultural sector, which until March of this year drove 3.4 billion in economic impact for the city annually, will collapse. The work that we have been making by, with, and for the people of the city will cease. Especially if the people we serve do not have homes in which to stay.

We understand that this is a matter of life and death. To steal resources away from housing during a pandemic is illogical and shameful. It guarantees more cases of Covid-19 as your constituents die on the waiting lists for affordable housing; it encourages the spread of the virus in marginalized communities, especially communities of color, and among people with disabilities and their caregivers. It means that this disease will persist in the city when we desperately need to recover and begin to heal. Funding affordable housing will help guarantee that recovery. It is an investment in a future in which this city and its people can not just survive, but thrive.

Let’s be real: Philadelphians were struggling before COVID-19. Before this pandemic, there was a housing crisis; more than half of all city renters and almost one of every three homeowners were cost-burdened. No one should ever have to choose between paying rent and putting food on the table. Now, due to the virus, Philadelphians are struggling more than ever to pay their mortgages and rent.

Council has an important responsibility in this and in every moment going forward. You can set the tone for Philadelphia’s recovery strategy. Supporting the Housing Trust Fund is a key part of designing a plan that centers people, encourages health, prevents displacement, draws a net of mutual aid around the citizens of this city and invests in the idea that there is a better future for Philadelphia. The choice is clear. Fund Housing. Save Lives.