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Norfolk protesters urge state to cancel rent, suspend accrued debt

'If people didn’t have rent for April, they definitely don’t have money for May rent.'

NORFOLK, Va. — May 1 marks the second rent collection during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Protesters came together statewide calling on lawmakers to cancel rent altogether. The group New Virginia Majority helped organize many of the rallies, including one in Norfolk.

“If people didn’t have rent for April, they definitely don’t have money for May rent,” said Norfolk organizer Mone’t Johnson.

Unemployment is growing. New Virginia Majority Members want to cancel those monthly payments, suspend the accrual of unpaid rent debt, and freeze evictions.

“Not only do we want to freeze it,” Johnson said. “We don’t want to have debt once the country opens back up, whenever that is.”

Johnson and organizer LaFeetah Byrum banded a small group together in Norfolk to join the statewide movement and make some noise.

“There are all these corporate bailouts and really the things we need to consider are how we going to bailout tenants,” Byrum said.

Group organizers said they planned to caravan through St. Paul’s neighborhoods to spotlight issues that existed before the pandemic.

“We’ve been trying to fight for housing here in the City of Norfolk,” Bryum said.

“Raise our concerns about what is going on around the annual budget,” Johnson said. “How that affects the city and then affects this public housing community, which is not separate from the city at all. They are like on the same hand.”

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Recently, Virginia lawmakers put a freeze, of sorts, on evictions.

Attorney and Delegate Jay Jones said in a message that the law allows tenants who are brought to court to get a 60-day continuance, provided they prove they don’t have income because of COVID-19.

“That provision is in place for 90 days after the stay-at-home order ends,” Jones said.

But as long as the courts are closed, then you can’t even have a hearing.

Still, protesters said that’s not enough.

“Something needs to be done,” Johnson said. “This is not something you can just turn a blind eye towards.”

Both organizers said if actions aren’t taken to cancel rent and suspend the accrual of unpaid rent debt, you’ll see them out here again come June 1.

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