Waltham Letter: What We Could do in Response To Coronavirus

WALTHAM, MA — The following letter to the editor was submitted by Jonathan Goldman of Main Street in Waltham:

We’re entering the suspected worst portion of the COVID-19 pandemic and I think it’s important to reflect and appreciate what the City of Waltham has done in response and also to lay out some additional steps the city could take.
What Waltham has Done:

• Created a $150,000 emergency fund for tenant assistance
• Continued to provide meals for children and their families through the school system
• Provided ongoing briefings about the state of COVID-19 in Waltham, including a commitment to transparency by ensuring numbers are reported to the public
• Developed an online COVID-19 resources page
• Posted a hiring for 2 part-time Public Health Nurses

What Waltham Could Do:

• Citywide canvassing, mailing, and/or calling effort to share resources with residents
• Partner with United Way of another fundraising institution to support Waltham
• Develop a city fund for people impacted by COVID-19 which people can donate to
• Create a grant program from small businesses in Waltham
• Put in place a temporary eviction moratorium during which the Waltham Housing Authority will not evict tenants in WHA property
• Develop a plan for when unhoused people get sick, including a 24-hour shelter for people who normally sleep outside
• Work with major landlords in Waltham to develop a temporary eviction moratorium during which tenants of those landlords will not be evicted
• Halt non-emergency construction
• Institute a curfew
• Expand resources on Waltham’s city website
• Increase the funding for the tenant emergency fund

When this pandemic has subsided, we will be judged not simply by the actions we took but also by those steps we did not take. I urge Waltham to be a leader in the response to this pandemic and work to implement some of these other actions that multiple other Massachusetts communities have already taken. We’re stronger together, and we can fight this pandemic if we work together to make these additional responses possible.

- Jonathan Goldman lives on Main Street in Waltham.