Picture this: it’s Monday morning in Harrisburg. A woman steps up to a microphone on the 3rd floor of the statehouse, hands shaking just a little, and she tells a building full of strangers and senators that she slept in her car last winter. Not because she wanted to, but because the rent went up again and she had to choose. Do I give up and stop trying, or do I fight like hell?
People cried. Some people nodded in understanding, and a few of them had similar stories. It might not have been a car in the dead of a PA winter, but we’ve all faced our fair share of hardships.
That was Monday. That was us. That was our brave members taking a stance for what we believe in. Housing is a human right. Not a luxury. A right.
We the people demand a country where we can all live with the safety, dignity, and resources we need & deserve.
While this failed administration is trying to make the Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary about a whitewashed history, ignoring the harms this nation was built upon, and throwing a party for the rich and powerful. We know that this country’s colonialist, systemically racist, classist, and oppressive founding cannot be ignored. It’s our responsibility to learn from the harm this country has caused, understand how it continues to harm us today, and fight for a better future where we’re all truly free.
We, the people, are supposed to be in charge of this country. Not greedy corporations and billionaires, and not six senators who have made it crystal clear that they answer to neither their constituents nor their conscience. We mean that literally: Senators Kim Ward, David Argall, Joe Picozzi, Dawn Keefer, Jarrett Colemand, and Frank Farry have had every opportunity to move Pennsylvania toward real housing solutions, yet they haven’t, and they won’t. Not until we make them.
So that’s exactly what we are doing. On Monday, we shared personal experiences of our housing insecurity journeys, both past and present. Some intense feelings came up as each story was shared: helplessness, hopelessness, frustration, and more. But we know we are not alone in feeling the brunt of relentless rent increases and a constrictive housing market statewide. As each vulnerable experience was shared, we all conjured up other community members we know who unfortunately relate.
After the rally, we stopped by each of the Senate Urban & Housing Committee members’ offices to share our members’ stories with them to underscore how crucial fair housing is for all Pennsylvanians. We dropped off literature that further describes the solutions we, the people, are demanding from our elected officials. We also left behind the unmistakable message that we are watching, organized, and not going away.
This is what long-term, militant organizing looks like. Not a moment, not a one-off march, but a movement that shows up again and again until the people in power have no choice but to reckon with us.
There are Senate and House bills that are already available for our elected officials to vote on that would bring Pennsylvania closer to solving our housing crisis, including SB-643 (Fair Chance Housing), SB-745 & 746 (Manufactured Homeowner Equity Preservation Package), HB-1250 (Residents’ Right to Purchase Manufactured Home Communities), SB-1089 (The Shelter First Act), and HB-2028 (Ending the Criminalization of Homelessness).
Pennsylvanians deserve better treatment from those we elected to power, and we will continue to demand fair housing solutions! Keep calling these Senators, and keep connecting with your fellow neighbors.
As the late, great Fannie Lou Hamer famously said, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” It’s on us to fight for our collective liberation.
A better future is possible, but getting there will take long-term, militant organizing. It’s going to take all working people uniting across our differences to fight for what we deserve. Will you join us?
In solidarity,
Edwin, Hannah, & Magnus: PA Stands Up Comms Team