October 6, 2021 |COVID-19, Housing, News, State of MA

State of MA announces Eviction Diversion Initiative | October 6, 2021

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The following information is courtesy of Mayor McGee’s office & the state’s EDI Public Information website.

The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development has recently announced their Eviction Diversion Initiative (EDI). This includes a robust community outreach and public awareness campaign targeting census tracts within 22 municipalities, including Lynn, based on analysis that incorporated cost burdens, demographics, employment rates in industries hard-hit by COVID-19, and the distribution of emergency housing assistance.

The Baker-Polito Administration announced a comprehensive set of resources to support tenants and landlords during the financial challenges caused by the pandemic. The goal of this initiative is to keep tenants safely in their homes and to support the ongoing expenses of landlords once the pause of evictions and foreclosures expire on Saturday, October 17^th. This strategy was developed by a cross-agency team assembled by the Administration in coordination with the Massachusetts Trial Court to manage the end of the moratorium on October 17^th and reflects input from a broad range of stakeholders.

Through this effort, the State seeks to reach vulnerable households with the goal of getting more complete applications and aid out to those that need it most. This will involve extensive door knocking, application support, and partnering with various local organizations. The public information campaign will be led Archipelago Strategies Group (ASG), which you may recognize from their work on the vaccine rollout. ASG will also launch a call center to help individuals and families complete applications.

The state of MA has launched multiple websites with more information about this program. All of them have information available in a variety of languages including English, Spanish, & Khmer. These resources are listed below.

• COVID-19 EDI Overview
• EDI: Legal Services & Mediation
• COVID-19 EDI Frequently Asked Questions
• Public Information Campaign materials