In Lynn, Springfield, Worcester and Holyoke we’re hearing the same things over and over.

The rent is too damn high, and the conditions of too many apartments are unlivable.

We’re doing something about that. Check it out: nearly 50 tenants rallied at Springfield City Hall last week to demand that the city include renters in conversations on the housing crisis.

“We are tenants, we are voters, we are taxpayers, and we will be heard.”

Bennita Watford, N2N Member

For the past two years, we’ve been knocking on doors and asking tenants what the quality of their life is.

We expected there would be units that were subpar, but we did not expect that 75% of the people we talked to would show us mold in their bathrooms, holes in the ceilings, rodent infestations, broken windows and doors that don’t lock.

That’s unacceptable. Renter or homeowner, you should be able to make a comfortable, healthy home in Massachusetts and stay in the neighborhood you love.

We are the people on the frontlines of the housing crisis. We’re the ones living in unhealthy apartments with unresponsive corporate landlords. We’re the ones facing skyrocketing rents in the neighborhoods we call home.

Our message to City Hall: Tenants are living the problem every day. We need to be part of creating the solution. We need a seat at the table.

If the news media is any indication, they heard us loud and clear. Check us out on MassLive, Western Mass News, and WWLP.