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Rally held in Pittsburgh calling for lawmakers to extend eviction ban

PITTSBURGH — Just five days until eviction protection runs out for thousands of people.

Today a rally was held, calling for lawmakers to extend an eviction ban.

Right now 11,000 applications for emergency rental assistance are still pending in Allegheny County.

Thousands of residents say the clock and the money are running out on them. This morning housing advocates and local residents came to the Allegheny County courthouse to demand the extension of eviction protections for Allegheny County which are set to expire this Sunday.

The program has already provided $47 million worth of assistance.

“The system is working, so far 7500 families have been stabilized through emergency rental assistance program that’s a huge number,” explained Pittsburgh United member Jennifer Rafanan Kennedy.

But housing advocates say this extension is crucial to keep more people in their homes.

Teaira Collins says for people like her daughter, who is on dialysis, help with rent and utilities could mean life or death.

Collins recently paid her daughter’s power bill.

“She’s on dialysis she needs her machines she does dialysis at home so she needs her machines and they were going to cut it off they called her phone and gave her a 48 hour notice and I paid it.”

After their plea at the Allegheny County courthouse, this group walked their request to the office of common pleas court president, Judge Kim Berkeley Clark.

Clark had previously successfully petitioned the state Supreme Court for permission to delay eviction proceedings.

As of right now 936 households have eviction hearings scheduled for November. A little over 430 of these hearings are scheduled for the first week of the month, which is about five days away.