Lisa Gonzalez, Olivia Bennett and Summer Lee: One way to prevent a worsening crisis? Cancel rent.

Every person in our community needs and deserves a safe place to call home. Yet in the richest country in the world, housing is shamefully unaffordable and people are facing unreasonable struggles to pay the rent. Even before this crisis, nearly 12 million people were spending half of their paychecks on rent. Here in Pennsylvania, more than 1.7 million of us have filed for unemployment since March.

The economic devastation this virus will leave in its wake will impact almost all of us, but it will be especially hard on those of us who were already struggling.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic hit, there were so many barriers to finding safe, secure, affordable housing in our region. We already needed more money, more services and more affordable units. As the bills pile up, rent will likely be the hardest expense to cover, especially in quickly gentrifying neighborhoods. Now the most vulnerable among us will be faced with evermore terrible choices.

For those of us with safe, stable housing, our homes have become sanctuaries that protect us from illness. But what happens next week, or the week after that, or next month, when many of us will be unable to pay our rent, utilities, or mortgages? There is no reason why a resource as vital as housing should be so exorbitantly expensive — especially for working-class families. The market has pushed the boundaries of price because people will go to the brink of survival to afford housing. Because it is essential, housing’s value has been used to hold us financially hostage.

All of us must take responsibility for helping those who are most impacted. “We’re all in this together” is a familiar refrain, but now, there can be no other option. We have to provide rent relief to our most vulnerable residents, and we’ve got to do it now.

America is experiencing a public health crisis. Covid-19 affects and will affect poor and working-class community members the most. Rather than prioritizing public money on corporate bailouts, we can stand united with front-line communities to ensure our collective well-being through this crisis.

A moratorium on evictions and foreclosures while in a state of emergency was a good step. But landlords and banks are expecting payment as if it’s business as usual. It’s not. The economic impact of this virus is devastating for small businesses, service industry and gig workers, and non-salaried employees. Canceling rent and mortgage payments for the duration of the pandemic would relieve financial pressure, allow citizens to stay home from work without the added concern of losing housing, and limit the spread of the virus. The federal government should mandate the suspension of rent and mortgage payments. State, county and local governments should do the same.

We need the federal government to:

• Zero out rent and mortgage payments nationwide

• Pass a nationwide eviction/foreclosure moratorium

• Ban utility shut-offs and pass a universal service mandate

• Provide homes and expanded services for people experiencing homelessness

• Provide a minimum of $2,000 in cash assistance to all people

• Support public housing residents

• Plan for a just, green transition post-pandemic

Pennsylvania needs a rent and mortgage freeze now. Without it, Pennsylvanians are at risk of losing their homes and places of business once the eviction freeze ends. We need to ensure that all renters, homeowners, and small, local landlords are able to keep their homes and businesses. We also need to ask Gov. Tom Wolf to extend the moratorium on eviction, foreclosure and utility shutoffs for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic.

In this fight, we will win short-term relief for our vulnerable community members, but we must never lose focus on the ultimate goal: guarantee housing as a public good, not a commodity. Housing must be guaranteed as a public good, not treated as a commodity. We must ensure that everyone has a safe, accessible, sustainable, permanently affordable home.

Now is the time to rewrite the rules to ensure that everyone can access the resources and care that we need without fearing we’ll go bankrupt or become homeless. Only by standing united can we ensure our collective well-being through this outbreak, and for us all for generations to come. Let’s start by providing rent relief. It’s time to build a healthier and stronger country for generations to come.

Lisa Gonzalez of Carrick is an affordable housing activist and Section 8 voucher holder. Olivia Bennett is an Allegheny County councilwoman and public housing tenant in Northview Heights. Summer Lee, a Democrat, is state representative for District 34.