Did you know the winter months have the highest rates of evictions if any time of the year? Did you know the Durham Housing Authority has filed evictions on 40% of its affordable housing residents so far this year?
An emergency committee to stop Durham’s eviction crisis has come together to demand a moratorium on evictions in Durham during this holiday season. Will you join us?
- Sign the petition at https://stopevictions.network/
- Attend our press conference, Friday at 10a.m. in front of the Durham Housing Authority (330 E Main St, Durham, NC 27701).
The Durham Housing Authority’s current policy is to file for evictions 14 days after someone is late on a rent payment – the earliest timeframe allowed by law. As a result, this year the Durham Housing Authority has filed seven times more eviction cases than Greensboro; 20 times more than Charlotte; and 35 times more than Raleigh.
The holidays and winter months are the time of year with the highest rates of evictions filings for low-income and affordable housing residents.
Earlier this year, tenant advocates in Richmond, Va., won a moratorium on evictions for the city’s affordable housing residents after they learned that the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority had attempted to evict 35 percent of its residents in the past year.
DHA has attempted far more evictions than Richmond’s housing authority has! It’s time for them to take a pause and stop leaving Durham’s most vulnerable residents homeless!
Here’s how you can join with the Emergency Committee to End the Durham Eviction Crisis to win a moratorium on holiday and winter month evictions:
- Sign our petition at https://stopevictions.network! The full petition language is below this message. Signing online will generate emails to DHA as well as the City Council, Clerk of Court, and County Commissioners offices.
- Call DHA Director Anthony Scott at (919) 683-1551. Urge him to enact a moratorium on holiday and winter month evictions.
- Letters to DHA CEO Anthony Scott! Come by the Durham Co-Op Market tomorrow, Thursday, December 19 between 4:30pm-7:30pm to learn more and sign a demand letter to DHA CEO Anthony Scott. These will be hand delivered on Friday, December 20.
- Spread the word. Write your own statement and send it out. Urge others to sign the petition. Share through your listservs, social media platforms, and at meetings and gatherings! Print and hand out fliers, or volunteer for shifts to gather petition signatures in your neighborhood, outside DHA, and at the courthouse. Help distribute yard signs (see attached photo).
- Want a yard sign? Come through Geer St Garden this Saturday, December 21 between 9am-11am to pick on up.
- Make a donation so we can purchase and distribute more signs, petitions, and flyers!
- Learn more: Invite the staff of the Legal Aid Eviction Diversion Program to speak to your group about Durham’s eviction crisis.
- Attend to the City Council meeting this Monday or the DHA Commissioner meeting on Dec. 30. These are the last meetings of these bodies before the holidays.
Would someone from your group be willing to sign up for a speaking slot at the City Council meeting to say why Durham should support this moratorium? Residents can sign up in advance by contacting the City Clerk’s office at 919-560-4166. On the day of the meeting, you can complete a “Speakers’ List” card, located at the City Clerk’s desk in
Council Chambers, prior to the start of the meeting.
Thanks for your support!