No Evictions in Disaster-Struck Western NC! - EVICTION MORATORIUM NOW
NC Chief Justice Paul Newby
Tell North Carolina Chief Justice Paul Newby:
We demand an immediate moratorium on all evictions for all affected NC counties.
Stable housing is a human right, but even more so, it’s an integral part of public safety during this ongoing disaster. Working-class communities are already suffering the worst effects of this disaster; We need to ensure we have access to safe housing for the duration of this crisis and after.
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When Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina, none of us were prepared for the devastation that would follow. For working-class people, the tragic loss of life, physical destruction, and crumbling of our material infrastructure was layered on top of an existing crisis: the housing crisis.
Before the hurricane, Asheville already had the fifth worst rental market in the country, as low wages failed to keep up with skyrocketing housing prices. Many of the working-class people who make Asheville run – from service workers to nurses to teachers – struggle to afford to live in the city they love and serve.
Now, as we attempt to put our lives and communities back together, rent is still due, and many landlords will not hesitate to evict tenants simply for being victims of a disaster. Countless livelihoods – particularly in the service and retail industries, but also small artisans and those with jobs reliant on running water – have been upended by the disaster. Public assistance will only make up for a small portion of lost wages.
We cannot let our coworkers and neighbors be displaced by landlord greed even as our community is still taking stock of what we’ve lost. Disaster capitalist vultures are already trying to take advantage of the tragedy, leaving tenants vulnerable to homelessness through no fault of their own. The working-class and low-income neighbors at risk of being evicted are the same people who make our city region flourish, who will be essential to rebuilding and making Western North Carolina run in the future.
In addition to the human tragedy, evictions are also a waste of resources, punishing poor and working-class people for the effects of climate change brought on by the world capitalist system, as well as the failures of our state and city to build climate-resilient infrastructure or to ensure affordable, high-quality housing.
Western North Carolina is suffering through an unthinkable tragedy – but a secondary tragedy, one of displacement and homelessness, is entirely preventable. Let’s not let the profits of the few override the needs of the many.
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Endorsed by:
Asheville Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)
Asheville Food & Beverage United (AFBU)
Asheville Survival Program (ASP)
Mutual Aid Disaster Relief (MADR)
Sponsored by
To:
NC Chief Justice Paul Newby
From:
[Your Name]
We demand an indefinite moratorium on all evictions for all affected NC counties.
Stable housing is a human right, but even more so, it’s an integral part of public safety during this ongoing disaster. Working-class communities are already suffering the worst effects of this disaster; We need to ensure we have access to safe housing for the duration of this crisis and after.
---
When Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina, none of us were prepared for the devastation that would follow. For working-class people, the tragic loss of life, physical destruction, and crumbling of our material infrastructure was layered on top of an existing crisis: the housing crisis.
Before the hurricane, Asheville already had the fifth worst rental market in the country, as low wages failed to keep up with skyrocketing housing prices. Many of the working-class people who make Asheville run – from service workers to nurses to teachers – struggle to afford to live in the city they love and serve.
Now, as we attempt to put our lives and communities back together, rent is still due, and many landlords will not hesitate to evict tenants simply for being victims of a disaster. Countless livelihoods – particularly in the service and retail industries, but also small artisans and those with jobs reliant on running water – have been upended by the disaster. Public assistance will only make up for a small portion of lost wages.
We cannot let our coworkers and neighbors be displaced by landlord greed even as our community is still taking stock of what we’ve lost. Disaster capitalist vultures are already trying to take advantage of the tragedy, leaving tenants vulnerable to homelessness through no fault of their own. The working-class and low-income neighbors at risk of being evicted are the same people who make our city region flourish, who will be essential to rebuilding and making Western North Carolina run in the future.
In addition to the human tragedy, evictions are also a waste of resources, punishing poor and working-class people for the effects of climate change brought on by the world capitalist system, as well as the failures of our state and city to build climate-resilient infrastructure or to ensure affordable, high-quality housing.
Western North Carolina is suffering through an unthinkable tragedy – but a secondary tragedy, one of displacement and homelessness, is entirely preventable. Let’s not let the profits of the few override the needs of the many.
---
Endorsed by:
Asheville Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)
Asheville Food & Beverage United (AFBU)
Asheville Survival Program (ASP)
BeLoved Asheville
Firestorm Books
Mutual Aid Disaster Relief (MADR)
Western North Carolina Tenants Network (WNCTN)